Now I Know I Have to Know Part 2
by TRUSSELL33
Summary: Sequel to I Have to Know. Picks up when Booth and Brennan return to DC to find someone tried to blow up the Jeffersonian while they were getting married. They must figure out what is going on before the worst happens. Smut will abound, I'm sure.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm finally all better from the flu so you guys won't have to wait so long for updates now. I will try to update at least every few days. This sequel picks up where I Have to Know leaves off and I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for reading and please review.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan and Booth returned to DC two days after their wedding. They had been all set to leave at noon the day following their wedding, but the local FBI office had decided to take advantage of their presence in Vegas and asked for her assessment of remains on a couple of cold cases. In fact, they would have kept the pair there indefinitely if Booth hadn't finally put his foot down, telling the local office to get their own forensic anthropologist, Brennan was his and they had plenty of their own cases to work in DC. They didn't currently have an open case in DC, but they did need to get back to make sure the FBI tech training program was going as well as Angela had reported. Even though they still had several weeks left in the three month trial the board had approved, it was a big job and they didn't have any time to waste on non-urgent cases.

They had decided not to tell their friends about the wedding until they saw them face to face so they would be there to soothe hurt feelings and ruffled feathers and show them the photos and video of the ceremony Mr. Holden had thoughtfully provided. Booth and Brennan had both been stunned when they were presented with the items, neither having any idea a photographer had been present. Mr. Holden had explained they had used their very sophisticated security system which had cameras on the bridge for the express purpose of making wedding videos. Booth and Brennan hoped that would be enough to placate Angela for missing the ceremony as neither looked forward to her throwing a hissy fit.

They entered the lab just before noon on Friday to a scene of utter chaos, people running around like the place was on fire and smoke hanging over the room, making them both look around for the fire. Angela saw them come in and rushed over almost in tears.

"Oh, thank God you two are back," she grabbed Brennan, hugging her tightly. Booth and Brennan looked around the room in stunned amazement then back at each other. Brennan pulled back and peered closely at Angela, who looked very tired as if she hadn't slept well in days.

"Ange, what is going on here?" Brennan demanded.

"One of the FBI's finest almost blew up the lab," she gave Booth a disgruntled look, as if it was his fault.

"What? How?" Brennan and Booth demanded simultaneously.

"He wouldn't listen to Wendell. He thought he had a better way of doing a certain test and the chemicals he mixed together apparently made an explosive. Thank goodness the moron only mixed a little batch because Jack said the explosive power increases exponentially to the amount of chemicals." Booth and Brennan shared a look of horror. _This was so not good._ They were already under enough scrutiny from the Jeffersonian board, they didn't need screw up's like this.

"Was anyone hurt?" Booth asked before Brennan could. Angela shook her head.

"Just the moron and he wasn't hurt badly, a few minor burns and bruises from being thrown backward from the explosion. They were using one of the back rooms instead of the platform and everyone else was out of the room with Jack. The FBI guy sneaked away to set up his experiment while no one was looking." At that moment, Wendell and Hodgins came rushing up with looks of relief on their faces.

"Thank God!" Wendell was obviously excited they were back. Hodgins looked like he was about to cry.

"Man, it's good to see you two."

"What the hell has been going on here while we were gone?" Booth gestured with a hand to the utter chaos in the lab at the moment. Booth and Brennan shared a baffled look when Wendell, Angela and Hodgins looked at each other uncomfortably then avoided meeting their eyes. Without looking directly at either of them, Angela finally answered the question.

"I might have exaggerated how well things were going here." She informed them guiltily. A quick glance at the other two told Booth they knew about Angela's little fabrications and were most likely involved.

"Why would you do that, Ange?" demanded Brennan more confused than angry. Angela shrugged, then looked at her friend pleadingly.

"We just didn't see the sense in worrying you and we thought we had it under control," she glared at Wendell and Hodgins who nodded, tacitly admitting their guilt. "Everything was fine until yesterday and we knew you would be home as soon as possible. It's not like you two were out there just goofing off, you were on an important case." Luckily, Angela was momentarily distracted by a noise behind her and missed the guilty look Booth and Brennan shared. True, they had been officially requested to look at the cases they had spent the extra two days in Vegas on, but they hadn't fought it very hard, glad of the extra time to themselves.

"What happened yesterday?" Brennan rubbed her forehead, working on the headache she could feel coming on. Before Angela could answer her, Cam trotted up, the look of relief on her face almost comical.

"Welcome home, people. Just in time for the party, I see." Booth had to grin at the look Brennan shot Cam, obviously wondering if she had inhaled too many chemical fumes. Without responding to the greeting, Brennan got down to business.

"Cam, do we need to evacuate the lab?" Hands on hips, Cam looked at the people rushing past her, apparently going nowhere but in circles. Not a single person other than the injured tech had left the department.

"Yes and no."

"I don't know what that means." No one even cracked a smile.

"The chemical fumes aren't at a dangerous level but we do need to clear the lab until we can figure out exactly what happened, but I've already tried yelling and can't get their attention." Cam sighed in disgust, her voice a little husky from the attempts.

"I can help with that," Brennan strode to the platform and climbed the steps, letting out the loudest, shrillest whistle any of them had ever heard. All movement ceased, with every eye in the place turning toward her. "I need everyone to stay calm and do what Dr. Saroyan tells you to." Brennan motioned to where Cam was standing and everyone's attention shifted. With a mouthed thank you to Brennan, Cam instructed everyone to go home for the rest of the day and report back as scheduled in the morning, grabbing Wendell's arm as he turned to go.

"Not you," Cam's voice was firm but not harsh but Wendell flinched as if she was shouting at him. With a pat on Wendell's arm, Cam turned to herd everyone out of the lab.

"Wendell, what's wrong?" asked Booth in genuine concern, dropping a hand on his shoulder. Shuffling his feet, Wendell refused to meet Booth's eyes.

"This is all my fault," he whispered, dropping his head. Angela and Hodgins shrugged, assuring Booth they didn't know what he was talking about.

"How is this your fault?" Booth asked gently. Wendell finally met his eyes, expecting to see condemnation at his failure, but only saw concern.

"The students were my responsibility. This would never have happened if Dr. Brennan had been here."

"Following that logic, Wendell, it would be my fault this happened, not yours." Everyone swung around to see Brennan standing behind them, having arrived in time to hear Wendell claim responsibility for the calamity in front of them.

"Of course, it's not your fault, Dr. B. You weren't even here, but it was my fault." He insisted stubbornly. Walking closer, Brennan placed a hand on his forearm, squeezing lightly.

"Wendell, I trusted you enough to put you in charge of instructing the FBI techs while I was gone. I'm sure you didn't do anything wrong. It was an accident, Wendell. We need to figure out what happened so we can make sure it doesn't happen again instead of trying to place blame." Shoulders sagging in relief, Wendell nodded in agreement. A yell from Cam drew their attention to where she was standing in the door of Brennan's office, waving them all over.

"I told you they wouldn't get married in Vegas," Hodgins' comment to Wendell stopped Booth and Brenna in their tracks, a few steps behind the other three. Wendell shrugged. Angela snorted.

"And I told you _both_ they would never get married without their family there and since we never left DC," she circled her finger at the three of them and Cam, "they couldn't get married."

"Ange, we don't have to be there for them to get married." Hodgins argued.

"Yes, we do, Jack. We're family. They would never do that to us, just totally leave us out of the whole thing. Bren is my best friend, you know," Angela insisted.

Booth and Brennan looked at each other with wide eyes. Well, that little conversation told them how Angela was going to take their happy news. Not well. Grabbing Booth's hand and squeezing hard, Brennan pulled him to the other side of the platform where they couldn't be overheard.

"Booth, what are we going to do?" she hissed.

"We're going to figure out what happened here." She smacked his arm for the flip remark.

"That's not what I meant, Booth. How are we supposed to tell them we did get married in Vegas and weren't working a real case when the lab got blown up?" Running a hand through his hair, Booth honestly didn't know. The plan had been to take the squints out to dinner tonight and break the news then. At this precise moment, neither was sure that was a good idea, but the fact is they were married and Angela would get over it. Eventually. Maybe. But, damn, could she make them suffer first, especially Brennan and she had enough to deal with right now without adding a pouting Angela. Luckily, they had agreed to not wear their wedding rings to work until they had a chance to talk to everyone or they would already have been busted.

Dropping his forehead to rest against hers, Booth suggested, "Maybe we should wait a few days and let things settle down a little before we tell them." Brennan bit her lip in indecision, wanting to share their news with their family, but cringing inwardly at the reaction she was now expecting from her best friend. Reluctantly, she nodded. "It doesn't matter if they know or not, Baby. We're still married and that's the important thing." Tipping her face upward with a finger under her chin, Booth kissed her deeply, only pulling away at Cam's voice directly behind them.

"Oh, for God's sakes, you two. We could really use your help if you can drag yourselves away from each other for a minute." Cam's voice was teasing but there was very real stress easily detectable on her face. Laughing, Booth grabbed Brennan's hand and pulled her toward her office.

Fifteen minutes later, they all emerged from Brennan's office with assignments designed to get to the bottom of the explosion as quickly as possible. After Cam informed Cullen of the accident and that Booth and Brennan were back, Cullen ordered Booth to stay and oversee the investigation, calling him with the results. He had looked over the scene of the explosion and concluded that it could have been much, much worse.

True, there was quite a bit of blast damage in the makeshift lab, but the fire suppression system had kicked in immediately and confined the flames to a very small portion of the room. The glass walls would have to be replaced but it being safety glass had probably saved lives. Booth frowned as he tried to resign the injuries Angela had attributed to the tech with the blast area. No way was the guy standing at his work station if he only had minor injuries. He just didn't see how that was possible and they were just lucky no one else had been in the room at the time or someone would most likely have died.

Since there were no bodies involved, Cam and Brennan were a little out of their element, but Hodgins was very much in his as the explosives expert. Cam, Wendell and Brennan collected evidence for him to analyze until Hodgins yelled for Brennan and asked her to run some samples separately to confirm his results. He refused to share those results yet, but Booth could tell by the way his jaw was clenching and unclenching that something was not right. He knew that something was very wrong when Brennan looked at the results from her tests and her jaw tightened in fury. She and Hodgins shared a long look and then turned to Booth.

"This was no accident, Booth," stated Brennan firmly. Booth had been very afraid she was going to say something along those lines. His gut had been telling him something was wrong since they walked through the lab doors and it was hardly ever wrong. But, crap, was it too much to ask not to be hit in the face with very bad things the second they walked through the door? _Apparently it was_, he thought with an inward sigh.

"Why do you think it wasn't an accident, Bones?" Handing him the lab report, she motioned for Hodgins to explain it. She was so angry she could barely speak. _Someone had tried to blow up her freaking lab with her freaking family in it. That was just unacceptable._ Keeping a wary eye on Brennan, Hodgins partially turned to Booth.

"We found potassium nitrate and that isn't a chemical that is included in the field collection kits." _Not exactly concrete evidence that the explosion was deliberate_ thought Booth.

"Do you people keep that particular chemical in the lab?" Hodgins nodded. Brennan crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes at him. She knew where he was going with this and she didn't like it. Not one little bit.

"My people did not mess up, Booth," she gritted out between clenched teeth.

"How can you be so sure, Bones?" His voice was soft and soothing, but nothing could make that question anything less than offensive and her glare told him so.

"Because they don't make mistakes like that, Booth. They're much too diligent to leave an explosive compound out in the open where anyone could have access to it." Booth knew the squints were very careful when it came to their work, but still, what would an FBI tech have to gain by deliberately blowing up their lab. It just didn't make sense.

"Maybe it wasn't one of your people. Maybe it was someone else." Now, Hodgins crossed his arms and glared at Booth right along with Brennan.

"Not possible, Booth. No one in this lab would do that. Ever." Hodgins nodded his agreement. With a sigh, Booth rubbed the nape of his neck.

"Ok, Baby, tell me about this potassium stuff." Hodgins' eyes widened at the endearment. Although the partners were in a relationship, he had never heard either address the other by anything other than their names at work. Booth and Brennan didn't even notice the slip.

"It's an explosive compound found in fireworks and fertilizer," she saw his eyes widen at the mention of fertilizer and nodded. "Yes, it is why terrorists use fertilizer for explosives. Luckily, this guy didn't use very much or it would have been a lot worse." Booth took several moments to get his thoughts in order, only to find himself face to face with a very angry, inpatient Brennan when he tuned back in. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she demanded, tapping her foot on the floor. Booth eyed her cautiously.

"What is it, exactly, that you want me to do, Bones?" Brennan and Hodgins shared an incredulous look.

"This guy tried to blow up my lab and my family, Booth. I want you to go federal on his $$." Her tone suggested he should have known without asking and Hodgins nodded his vehement agreement.

"Yeah, Booth, go arrest the guy." Shooting a lethal glare at a now smiling Hodgins, Booth returned his attention to Brennan with a deep sigh and a quick prayer for patience.

"Bones, I can't just go arrest him for an accident." With a gasp of outrage, she stepped closer to him, poking him in the chest. He looked down in disbelief and caught the swirling emotions in her eyes. She was royally pissed. Hopefully, not at him.

"It. Was. Not. An. Accident." She followed each word with a poke. In different circumstances, Booth would have been getting in her face by now, both of them yelling. But, he could clearly see the fear behind the anger and he knew that she was reacting to her belief that her house of reason and her family had been deliberately targeted for harm. He could also see her guilt that she hadn't been here to protect them and felt a few of those pangs himself, but none of this had been her fault or his for that matter and they would get to the bottom of it. Pulling her into his arms, he felt her whole body trembling with the strength of her emotions as she wrapped her arms around his waist and clung tightly.

"Hey, it's ok. No one was hurt, Baby. Your family is fine." Cupping her face in his hands, he tilted her head back to look directly into her eyes. "We're all fine." He reiterated softly. Just being in his arms calmed her, she finally nodded and gave him a soft smile. "Now, if you want me to arrest this guy, find me some concrete evidence that the explosion was deliberate and I'll see what I can do." She nodded but before she could step back, Angela cleared her throat, grinning at Booth and Brennan's intimacy with a raised brow.

"I found something you all need to see on the security tapes," she told them with her jaw set firmly, all humor gone.

Following Angela into her office, they found Cam and Wendell already there. Angela walked to her computer and started the video footage from where it had been paused. The squints and Booth watched the video intently as the tech in question sneaked away from Hodgins' lecture and returned to the room they were using as a lab alone. Booth studied the tech's movements closely and felt a shiver of unease work down his spine; the man's movements were too stealthy, too sneaky, as if being stealthy was natural to him. Lab techs did not move like that. His eyes narrowed further when the man stood with his back to the camera while doing something at the table, blocking the view of his movements. Obviously he was aware of camera placement and knew how to circumvent surveillance without raising suspicion.

"How does this help us, Ange? We can't even see what he's doing." Brennan asked with frustration apparent in her voice. Angela's smile told her to be patient, but that was not one of her better qualities and they all knew it, so Angela hurriedly went on with her explanation. Cam's phone rang and she paled looking at the caller ID, but quickly left the room to take the call.

"I was able to isolate a reflection and clean it up," Angela pulled the footage up and they all watched tensely as the man pulled something out of his pocket and started mixing it together with something he picked up from the table. _Ok, that did look deliberate,_ thought Booth, but the real tell was when the man turned and hurriedly made his way toward the door.

"He knew there was going to be an explosion. He must have miscalculated and just didn't make it out in time." Brennan turned to Booth, feeling vindicated. Booth nodded and ran a hand along the nape of his neck. Brennan was right, the explosion had been deliberate, but why? Might as well make use of the brain trust, he decided, he certainly didn't have a clue. Before he could ask them anything, Wendell took the words right out of his mouth.

"This doesn't make any sense. Why would one of the techs try to blow up our lab?" Everyone looked baffled, so no help on that front.

"Maybe he was trying to get even," suggested Brennan uncomfortably, "most of them really don't like me." Booth slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. No one really knew how to respond to that remark. It was true and they all knew it, but Hodgins tried with his logical reasoning.

"They don't really like me either, Dr. B." He assured her with a shrug, "But you never even met the guy, so it doesn't make sense that he has a personal grudge against you." Brennan shot him a smile for trying to make her feel better, just as Cam stalked back into the room, her anger evident to the people that knew her so well.

"We have a big problem, people," she threw out between clenched teeth.

"Bigger than someone trying to blow up the lab?" Brennan questioned incredulously. Cam nodded jerkily, taking several deep breaths. She so did not want to tell these people about her phone call, but they deserved to know. It was going to take all of them to find a way out of this.

"I have just been notified by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jeffersonian that a special session has been called for tomorrow afternoon to address the "situation"." She used air quotes and sarcasm with the word. "He also implied that the training program would be stopped immediately," rubbing her forehead and pacing so she wouldn't have to meet anyone's eyes, she gave them the worst part. "He also implied that the meeting was just a formality, the decision has already been made to sever our relationship with the FBI. Permanently." She flinched at the gasps coming from the group behind her and finally turned to face her family ready to face their anger and censure for allowing this to happen.

She was their leader. She was the one ultimately responsible for the explosion and for this awful mess. She was awed to see that not a one of them was looking at her with anything other than sympathy, compassion and affection.

"Cam, this is not your fault, either." Booth's words brought tears of gratitude to Cam's eyes, especially when the others murmured their agreement. Suddenly, Brennan gasped, turning to Booth.

"What if severing the connection between the Jeffersonian and the FBI was the whole point of this mess?" Eyes narrowed, they all looked at Brennan and considered the question. Booth nodded first.

"This would certainly do the job." He agreed.

"But why would one of the FBI techs want to do that?" questioned Angela. Running a hand through his hair, Booth decided to share his doubts about the guy's identity with the others, but before he could utter a word, a voice from the doorway cut him off.

"He's not FBI." All eyes turned to see a furious Deputy Director Cullen standing in the doorway. Instantly, they all knew this was huge, as none of them had ever seen Cullen in the Jeffersonian before. Walking into the room, he looked around, extremely relieved to see that none of Booth and Brennan's friends had been hurt. He also noted that Booth didn't seem surprised by his announcement while the squints appeared to be in various stages of shock.

"What? How could he have gotten into the training program if he wasn't an FBI employee?" demanded Brennan and Cullen had to smile at the speed she pushed the shock aside and got down to the tough questions.

"He had all the right paperwork. I checked it myself," Wendell insisted, jumping from his seat in agitation, once again, sure this was his fault.

"Wendell, this is not your fault. He would have had to show ID to even get in the lab. If the ID was fake, the guards should have spotted it." Booth assured the distraught young man, his eyes meeting Cullen's with a silent question. Cullen answered Booth's question aloud, these people deserved all the facts.

"Yes, Booth, I'm sure. I sent an agent to the hospital to check on the tech as soon as Dr. Saroyan notified me of the accident, but he wasn't there. In fact, he wasn't at any hospital. Thinking that was a little strange, I had the guy checked out and he doesn't exist." He gave Booth a level look. "I've also looked over his credentials, Booth, and you don't get that kind of quality work off the streets."

"A professional?" Booth's jaw clenched, knowing exactly what Cullen was implying. Cullen nodded and the other's looked at the two men with trepidation, not sure what was going on but sure it wasn't good.

"I don't know what that means," said Brennan softly, slipping her hand into Booths, the tension in the room raising her own. Booth squeezed her hand, but Cullen answered before he could.

"It means, Dr. Brennan, that this lab or someone in it is a target for a professional bad guy. The kind of professional that makes very bad things happen for anyone with the right amount of money." Cullen looked at the squints closely, expecting them to fall apart at his words. They did not and he felt his respect for all of them ratchet up a few notches.

"What are we going to do?" whispered Angela.

"We're going to figure out who did this and why and put a stop to it before this jerk tries something else." Cam stated firmly, glad to have a lead for them to pursue. Cullen almost smiled at the looks of resolve and determination spreading across the faces of the squints. This guy had so picked the wrong group of people to mess with. If anyone could figure this out, they could and it was now personal to them, they wouldn't stop until they got the bad guy. Cullen almost felt sorry for the guy until he remembered the second reason he was there.

"Dr. Saroyan, could I speak to you privately, please?" Cullen requested politely. Cam looked at him assessingly.

"Sir, anything you have to say about this mess can be said in front of my people."

"Fine. I got a call from one of the Jeffersonian board members with basically the same message you did, but my source made it clear that only a select few of the board want to end the ties between them and the FBI, but they are powerful people and the others may not be able to stop them. I'm looking for suggestions to stop it before it gets to the point that they vote." Cam chewed her lower lip and turned to Hodgins almost desperately.

"Jack, I hate to put you in this position, but can you do anything?" Hodgins sadly shook his head. He would have gladly put a stop to the Boards shenanigans months ago but he just didn't have the juice to do it.

"I'm sorry, Cam. Even though my family donates a lot of money to the Jeffersonian, all that is done through my own Board of Directors. I don't have any direct control, so I can't threaten to withdraw financial support and I've never been involved in politics. In fact, my views make me rather unwelcome in those circles. I'm really sorry I can't help, guys, but surely we can think of something." The brooding silence of the room was broken by Brennan turning to Cullen.

"Do you have names?" Cullen blinked at the question. "Do you have the names of the board members who want to vote against out partnership?" she raised her and Booth's joined hands and Cullen smiled, nodding.

"Not all of them, but I do have several," Brennan held out her hand in a give me gesture.

"What are you going to do, Bren?" Angela asked with just a hint of fear in her voice picturing Brennan personally confronting the board members.

"I'm going to get the board to back off, so we can do our jobs, Ange." The determination in her voice did not allay Angela's fears and she looked at Booth helplessly as did the other three squints. They had no idea that Brennan had any political power or connections and with her manner with people they didn't want her to make things worse. Booth ignored the others, focusing solely on Brennan. He did know what kind of pull she had, but was very surprised that she was so willing to use it for personal gain.

"Are you sure about this, Bones?" he asked softly, not trying to talk her out of this. In fact, he had been ready to pull her out of the room and make the suggestion himself, but this just wasn't like her and he wanted to make sure she wouldn't regret it later. She turned to him with determination, nodding but she was having some pangs of guilt over what she was about to do and Booth easily saw that.

"Booth, whoever is behind this needs to be stopped. We can't do that if we're no longer partners. We were following the rules, Booth, but they cheated." She paused and rubbed her forehead at his puzzled look. "We were told that we would have three months to train the FBI techs, but someone obviously thought that was too long to wait for whatever it is they want so they did this to cause enough friction to reach their goal." Booth nodded, easily following her logic. Her jaw clenched and her voice turned to steel. "And they tried to hurt my family. As far as I'm concerned, that means I will do whatever I have to do to make them pay." Cullen felt a shiver work down his spine at her words and tone. She was definitely Max Keenan's daughter in that moment. Her eyes begged Booth not to judge her as wanting because of what she needed to do to protect her family. But, she needn't have worried, her husband would never find her wanting in any way and his smile told her so. Returning the smile, she squeezed his hand then turned back to Cullen who handed her the list of names he had just written out. Nodding, she strode confidently from the room.

"Can she do it, Booth?" asked Cam softly. Booth turned from watching his wife walk toward her office, his pride in her apparent.

"Yeah, Cam, she can do it." He offered nothing else and the others needed nothing else. They all knew if any of them could accomplish miracles, it was Brennan and right now a miracle was the only thing that would save the situation. Knowing they all needed a distraction, Booth rubbed his hands together.

"Ok, squints, let's get to work and figure out who the bad guy is." With looks of relief, they all jumped up and hurried out the door to continue their earlier work, each silently praying that Brennan could accomplish her task. Oddly enough, Booth was the only one not sending up prayers, his faith in Brennan so absolute he didn't even think of it. _She would stop the board and they would find whoever was behind this, then maybe they could settle down to a nice, quiet married life, _Booth thought, then silently snorted at his own thoughts. Life with Brennan would never be quiet but he wouldn't have it any other way. With a smile, he and Cullen went to join the squints and offer what assistance they could.


	2. Chapter 2

**As promised, an update. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading and please, please review.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Forty-five minutes later, everyone stood on the platform casting anxious glances at the closed door of Brennan's office, wondering exactly what she was doing and why it was taking so long. Booth had a good guess as to what she was doing, but found himself becoming a little anxious about what was taking so long. Just as he was about to leave the platform for Brennan's office and satisfy his curiosity, his attention was captured by a commotion at the lab entrance.

"Sir, I told you that you can't go in there. The lab is closed." Turning, Booth saw an irate security guard barring the way of an equally irritated Congressman Daniel Pearson.

"Son, I've already told you that I was invited. Now, I would suggest that you get out of my way." Luckily Booth reached the two men before the situation could escalate. Cullen and Cam, who had instantly recognized Daniel, were hot on his heels.

"Let him through," ordered Booth. The security guard turned and glared at Booth, but before he could say anything, Cam snapped out the same order and he reluctantly stepped back, allowing Daniel to enter the room. Daniel went straight to Booth.

"Where is she?" he demanded, ignoring the others for the moment.

"She's in her office, Daniel. Don't worry, she's fine. We weren't even in the building when the explosion happened. Come on, I'll take you to her office." Cullen's and Cam's jaws dropped in astonishment that Booth was on a first name basis with such an illustrious Congressman. Still ignoring the others, Booth led Daniel away from the group, toward Brennan's office.

"Dammit, Booth, I thought I could trust you to take care of her." Since Daniel didn't bother to lower his voice, everyone in the room heard the criticism, but before Booth could take offense, which he did, and strike back, Brennan appeared in front of them, hands on hips, glaring at Daniel.

"Daniel, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, no matter what you think and I've already told you to leave him alone," Brennan scolded. Glancing at Daniel, Booth could see the man's enormous relief when he saw for himself that she was fine and decided to let his remark pass, just this once. Daniel pulled Brennan into a bear hug hanging on tightly for several seconds, before pulling back.

"Dammit, Red, do you stumble on all these dangerous situations or do you seek them out deliberately just to have something to do?" Booth had often wondered the same thing, but had never had the guts to voice the question. Daniel Pearson was a brave man, he decided. Used to Daniel's bluster, Brennan just rolled her eyes at him, patting his arm.

"Daniel, it would be completely illogical to deliberately place myself in dangerous situations." Booth noticed she hadn't really answered the question. So did Daniel but he didn't push. Both men had their answer with her avoidance of the question. While she might not always place herself in the path of danger, she wasn't very quick to jump out of its way either. Neither man was happy with their conclusions but they followed Brennan to her office, leaving three stunned people standing on and around the platform, staring after them. Angela and Wendell were simply confused; they had no idea who the tall, distinguished gentleman was. As soon as the door to Brennan's closed, the chatter started.

"Who's the old guy?" Wendell asked turning to Cam.

"He's Congressman Daniel Pearson, the most politically powerful man on the hill." Wendell's and Angela's eyes widened.

"He's also Amanda Pearson's father," piped in Hodgins. Everyone's eyes widened at that. Sweets was married to the daughter of one of the most powerful men in Washington. It boggled the mind.

"Why is he here?" asked Angela anxiously. She was usually a very positive person, but it was hard not to expect it to be something bad after the day they'd all had.

"I don't know," whispered Cam, "but he and Brennan appear to be very good friends, so that has to be good. Right?" She looked at the group for reassurance. Their nods of agreement were so halfhearted that Cam didn't find herself very reassured. Giving up all pretense of working, they, as a group, turned to stare at Brennan's closed door hoping Brennan was working miracles.

"So, Red, who did you piss off enough to make them want to blow this place up?" Daniel asked bluntly as he seated himself in one of the two chairs in front of her desk with Booth taking the other. Brennan stiffened as she sat down behind her desk, glaring at the Congressman. Booth also found the question insulting. It wasn't like Brennan didn't piss people off on a regular basis, but since she wasn't even there when the explosion took place and the bomber had to have known that, it was very unlikely that she was the target.

"Why do you think this was my fault?" she demanded with a definite snap in her voice. Daniel just shrugged.

"You have to admit that a hell of a lot of things get blown up and shot around you." he replied placidly. Yes, she actually did have to admit that, much as she hated to. She gave him a grudging nod. Daniel turned to Booth with narrowed eyes.

"What about you, Agent Booth? Is anyone pissed enough at you to try to get to you through Red?" Booth understood Daniel was upset about the explosion but he was beginning to get a little angry at the Congressman's attitude.

"Sir, we weren't even in the building when the explosion occurred. It's very unlikely that Brennan was the target." Booth's voice told Brennan he was fast losing patience with her friend.

"Daniel," Brennan drew his attention from Booth. "We think the explosion was manufactured to force the Jeffersonian to sever all professional ties with the FBI, not to target one particular person." Sitting back in his chair, Daniel whistled loudly.

"So you want me to find out who ordered it?" Daniel grinned, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"No, that's our job," Brennan pointed to herself and Booth and Booth barely suppressed a laugh at the older man's dejected expression. He looked as if someone had just taken away his favorite toy. "I want you to get the board of directors to back off so we can do our job." Daniel perked right back up at this; it was definitely his kind of job.

"Temporarily or permanently?" Booth and Brennan blinked at each other.

"You could make them back off permanently?" Booth asked, gaining an Oh, please look from the other man. It was a tempting thought, but Brennan shook her head. She always played by the rules and just wanted the chance the board had promised them to whip the FBI into shape. She hated asking for political favors for herself, but this was her family and her life's work, she would make an exception in this case.

"No," Brennan said softly. "We just need them to leave us alone to do our jobs right now and give us the agreed upon time to complete the training program."

"And what if they still want to break you two up in a couple of months? You should just let me take care of it now, Red, and save the two of you some trouble."

"They will never be able to break us up, Daniel." Booth assured the Congressman, holding Brennan's eyes with a soft smile, "But if they still want to sever our partnership, then we'll deal with it when the time comes." Brennan nodded, returning Booth's smile. With a long suffering sigh, Daniel acquiesced to their wishes.

"Fine. When will the board be meeting to vote?"

"Tomorrow afternoon at 3."

"Damn, Red, you sure don't ask for much do you?" he asked incredulously.

"Can you do it?" demanded Booth. Daniel turned to Booth ready to blast him for his doubt, but was pacified by Brennan.

"Of course he can do it, Booth. It would be illogical to ask him to do something he was incapable of accomplishing." Booth and Daniel shared a grin at her teacher tone.

"Yes, Agent Booth, I can do it. Don't worry, Red, I'll take care of it." _Permanently,_ he added to himself. He would make sure the board never tried to separate the partners again and she would never need to know because he was certain that she wouldn't approve and he didn't relish the tongue lashing that would be coming his way if she found out. Best to just let her think the training program had been a roaring success. Getting to his feet, Daniel turned to Booth.

"I need to be going. Why don't you walk me out, Agent Booth?" It wasn't a request. It was a demand, but Booth got obligingly to his feet.

"Red, try not to get blown up before you can find whoever's behind this. I'm getting too old for that crap." Brennan just rolled her eyes and smiled at him, accepting the kiss he bestowed on her cheek. Leaning back in her chair, she watched as Booth and Daniel left her office, her mind already back on the case. Striding across the room, the two men didn't even notice the squints still gathered on the platform.

"So, Daniel, what did you want to talk to me about?" Booth asked patiently. Daniel stopped just inside the doors to the lab and turned to Booth.

"I don't like this, Booth." Well, Booth could certainly relate to that. He wasn't thrilled with the situation either.

"Yeah, it seems too contrived and it just doesn't make any sense." Daniel nodded his agreement.

"I'm trusting you to keep her safe, Booth. Don't let me down." Booth had to smile at the implied threat in the man's voice.

"I won't let anything happen to her, Daniel." Searching Booth's face, Daniel saw the sincerity and nodded. Holding out his hand, he grinned at Booth.

"By the way, congratulations on your wedding. It was a lovely ceremony." Booth's jaw fell open.

"How the hell did you know about that? We haven't told anyone yet, not even my son." Daniel's grin widened.

"I told you I would be watching you, Agent Booth. You should always take me at my word. Now, I really have to be going. Don't worry about the board. I'll take care of them. You just solve this case and concentrate on your wife. And, Booth, until you figure out what exactly is going on, you'd be smart to watch your own back." The Congressman walked out of the lab, whistling.

Stunned, Booth could only stand and watch Daniel walk away. _Had the Congressman just told him that he was having them followed? Surely not. That was just so stalkerish it was creepy. Only one way to find out._ Turning on his heel, he ignored the voices calling his name from the platform and headed for Brennan's office. They needed to have a little talk about her friend. He stalked into her office, closing and locking the door behind him. She glanced up at his entry, eyes widening at the look on his face and jumped up from her chair, going to him and placing a hand on his forearm.

"Booth, what's wrong?" she asked anxiously. He was very tense, the muscles bunched under her hand and he appeared to be angry.

"Did you tell Daniel we were married?" Her eyes widened at the question, but she didn't think it would have made him angry even if she had told Daniel.

"No. Why?"

"Then how does he know?" She was very confused by his questions and his attitude, but she answered the question honestly.

"I have no idea. Are you sure he knows?"

"Since he congratulated me on the wedding then yeah, I'm sure he knows."

"Booth, I don't understand. Why does Daniel knowing we're married make you angry with me?" Shaking off his irritation and focusing on her face, he saw how anxious his anger had made her and cursed himself under his breath. Forcing himself to relax, he pulled her to him and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, Baby, I'm not mad at you." He assured her with a kiss to the crown of her head as she rested it on his shoulder. "Bones, Daniel implied that he was having us followed. That's what made me angry." Her head snapped up and a heavy frown furrowed her brow.

"What? Why would he have us followed, Booth?" Booth shrugged and Brennan immediately pulled out of his arms, turning toward her desk. Booth caught her arm.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to call Daniel and find out how he knew we were married. He can be just as needlessly overprotective as you sometimes, Booth, but I really don't think he would have us trailed." Booth couldn't stop the chuckle that burst forth at her words.

"It's tailed, Bones, not trailed. And he seems a bit too interested in you for just a friend, so, before you make that call, why don't you tell me all about your relationship with the Congressman?" he cajoled, pulling her onto the sofa with him.

"We are just friends, Booth. That's all Daniel and I have ever been." Booth's eyes narrowed when Brennan looked at her hands folded in her lap instead of at him. He didn't doubt she was telling him the truth, but she was definitely not telling him everything. With a sigh, Booth put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. Since she wasn't volunteering answers, he would just have to dig them out.

"How long have you two known each other?"

"About three years. Shouldn't we go tell the others that the board is taken care of?" That sort of jived with what the Congressman had told him. The time frame was a little off, but Brennan's stiffness and evasiveness told him he hadn't even started to get to the bottom of things.

"The others can wait a few minutes. Why is he so protective of you? It just seems odd that he would take such an attitude with one of his daughter's casual friends." Brennan turned to him with a glint of something he couldn't quite identify in her eye.

"Is that what he told you? That we met through Amanda?" She laughed out loud at that, but it wasn't in amusement. The sound actually sent a shiver down Booth's spine.

"You didn't meet through Amanda?"

"No. I knew Daniel for almost a year before I met Amanda." Sending up a quick prayer for patience, Booth angled his body on the sofa to face her and took both of her hands into his.

"Baby, I'm asking you to please just tell me whatever it is you're holding back." She looked at him pleadingly.

"Booth, I can't. I'm not supposed to talk about it." _Ah, one of her secret missions. _ He knew she didn't like to break the rules but he needed to know.

"Bones, you know you can trust me with any of your secrets. And didn't you recently tell me that we shouldn't have secrets between us?" She had said that and she believed it. She really didn't want to relive that adventure, but Booth had a valid point, she did trust him and he deserved to know. Unable to sit still and look him in the eye when she told him she had been lying to him by omission for years, she pulled her hands free and stood, starting to pace and rubbing a hand across her forehead.

"I used to do favors for different branches of the government." Risking a glance at him, she saw he was interested but not angry. _Not yet_, she thought_, but she didn't expect that state of affairs to last long._

"You mean you used to identify bodies for them?" He nodded. Daniel had as much as told him that so he couldn't figure out why she was getting visibly more tense.

"Not always. Sometimes I did… other things."

"Other things, like what, Bones?" She shivered at the flat quietness of his voice, not daring to look at his face right now. He was so not going to like what she was about to share with him.

"It depended on what agency the favor was for. Sometimes, I allowed one or two agency representatives to join my dig crew. That was mostly for the CIA, but sometimes they asked me to deliver or pick up certain things. Occasionally, I was asked to conceal an extra person and help smuggle them out of the country, things like that." She finished with a shrug as if had been nothing.

Booth was so angry he could barely form a coherent thought much less words. She had put her life on the line every time she had done a little "favor" for the government, but was probably too naïve to even realize it, but those bastards who had sent her in to do their dirty work had known full well what they were getting her into. She would have been killed in a heartbeat if she had been discovered. He suddenly found his words.

"_You did what?!"_ he roared, coming off the sofa like a spring was attached to his butt and stalking toward her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he barely controlled the urge to shake some sense into her. _"What the hell were you thinking, Brennan?"_ he shouted directly into her face.

She had expected him to be angry, but he wasn't just angry, he was livid. When she didn't answer him right away, he gave in to the irresistible urge and shook her lightly. Her eyes narrowed and she shook off his hands, stepping back.

"I was thinking my country needed my help, Booth, just like you did when you were a sniper for them. It's the same thing." One hand planted on his hip, the other running through his hair, he looked at her incredulously.

"No, Brennan, it is not the same thing. I had training to do what I did. You're a forensic anthropologist, for God's sake, not a spy. You had no business doing something so dangerous!" He had started off in an almost reasonable tone of voice, but was shouting again by the end. She understood why he was angry, but was getting a little irked by his obvious lack of faith in her abilities. Planting both hands on her hips, she stepped in closer until they were nose to nose.

"I did have training, Booth, and," she poked him in the chest just to let him know she was now also angry, "I could openly go a lot of places that even their undercover people couldn't venture. Besides, I'm not doing it anymore, so you have no reason to be angry." His head jerked back as if she had physically struck him. _No reason to be angry?_ He couldn't believe she had just said that to him. Holding onto his temper by a thin thread, he leaned in even closer.

"No reason to be angry? Bones, you've been lying to me, to all of us, for years. Do you even understand that you could have been killed on any one of your little trips?" And that's what made him the angriest, that she could have been taken away from him at any time and he hadn't even known what kind of danger she had been in. Without conscious thought, his hands reached out and jerked her against him. Wrapping her tightly in his arms and burying his face in her hair, he took several shuddering breaths, trying to calm down. Her arms went around his waist and her hands rubbed soothingly up and down his back, her own anger forgotten in her efforts to comfort him.

"I never lied to you, Booth. I'm sorry you're so upset over my actions, but I'm not sorry I did it." A muffled laugh escaped Booth at her words. It was just such a Bones thing to say that he couldn't help it. He found himself calming quickly at her soothing touch and raised his head to rest his forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Baby. I just can't stand the thought of you being in danger. I don't think I could survive it if anything ever happened to you. I love you too much." Brennan's insides melted into goo at the words and the emotion in his voice. Before she could come up with a response, his hands came up to cup her face. "Promise me you won't ever do anything like that again."

"I promise," she answered without hesitation, "I love you too much to ever want to leave you, Booth." With a smile, he closed the distance between their lips and kissed her so tenderly that it brought tears to her eyes. Reluctantly breaking contact with her lips, he stepped back and pulled her back to the couch. Seating them both, he turned toward her.

"I'm ready to hear the rest." He couldn't really blame her for the skeptical look that crossed her face.

"If I tell you the rest, are you going to yell at me again?" Tenderly, he brushed his knuckles across her cheek and shook his head.

"No, Baby, I won't yell at you again." _Even if I have to chew my own tongue off to keep from it,_ he promised himself. Taking him at his word, she nodded and took a deep breath.

"Three years ago, a special forces team was sent into Nicaragua to rescue a diplomat's daughter who was being held for ransom by a group of guerillas. Unfortunately, one of the locals they used as a contact had been recently recruited by the guerillas and the team was captured when they attempted the rescue. I had already been asked to participate in identifying genocide victims in the region the soldiers were being held and sending in a military team to rescue them would have been an overtly hostile gesture that the government wasn't willing to risk." Booth hated to interrupt but a question was burning on the tip of his tongue.

"Why didn't they just pay the ransom for the girl in the first place?"

"Apparently, it takes months for a ransom to be successfully negotiated and the woman was six months pregnant when she was kidnapped. Her father didn't want to risk her safety and the safety of her baby while they were negotiating." Booth nodded. That was certainly a horrifying situation and he could see a covert team being sent in to do the rescue. "I was asked to take two men with me on the dig as grad students who wanted to get some practical experience and when I heard the story, I agreed." Booth could definitely see that happening, as tough as she appeared on the outside; she was a big softie on the inside.

"It wasn't hard to find out where the soldiers and the woman were being held and we were able to go into the village on the pretext of gathering information on missing villagers to help with identification of the remains at the dig site." Stopping, she gazed off into space for so long Booth thought she had forgotten he was there. With a deep breath, she turned back to him. "I was never supposed to be involved with the rescue itself, but while we were in the village, we overheard the guerilla leader order his men to move the prisoners within the next two hours. Then he and most of his men left the village, leaving only ten guards, and we didn't have a choice. If they had moved them, we might not have been able to find them again." Booth nodded at her justification. The rescue attempt at that time had been the smart thing to do, as a military man he understood that, but, as Brennan's husband, he didn't like that she had been involved one damn bit. Taking her hand, he intertwined their fingers and gave her a soft smile.

"I understand." Her smile of relief was radiant.

"We were all armed, but didn't want to get in a fire fight in the middle of a village, so the two men who were with me started taking out the guerillas quietly. They got five of them before one of them was injured." Booth interrupted with another question.

"What about the villagers?"

"What about them?"

"Weren't you afraid they would help the guerillas?" She shook her head.

"The guerillas were just as brutal to the villagers as they were to their prisoners, so they wouldn't help them, but they were too afraid of them to help us. They just cleared out when the altercation began. Booth, I had to do some bad things that day," she whispered, dropping her head and looking at the floor. Reaching over with his free hand, he lifted her chin gently and looked directly into her troubled eyes.

"Hey, you did what you had to do. Right?" she nodded slowly, her eyes no less troubled. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," he offered. She didn't quite manage a smile, but she squeezed his hand.

"No, you deserve to know this about me. I killed two men that day, Booth." She said it as if she expected him to crucify her for her actions, as if that one act made her a bad person, but he knew his Bones and she would only have done that to save lives and as a last resort.

"Were they bad men?" she nodded jerkily. "Did taking them out save lives?" She nodded again. Pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her, he gave her what comfort he could. "Baby, I know how bad it feels to take another life, believe me, but, sometimes you just don't have another choice. I know you would never take another life if there was another way, but I am sorry you had to do that." She relaxed against him, nuzzling her face into his neck and just soaking up his presence before she continued.

"We were able to get the prisoners, but the soldiers had been tortured and their injuries were substantial. One was barely alive. His name was Nathanial Pearson." Booth pulled his head back to look into her upturned face with a raised brow.

"Any relation to Congressman Daniel Pearson?" she nodded.

"His son. One of the men I killed that day was standing over Nathanial with a gun to his head when I got to him. The other was trying to shoot a pregnant woman in the back." Her anger and disgust with the men came through loud and clear. "Luckily, we had two vehicles in the village and were able to transport everyone, but that's where our luck ran out. The guerilla leader had sent some of his soldiers back to see why the prisoners hadn't arrived and we ran into them. It got ugly," she said simply, not wanting to remember the details of bullets flying through the air and men falling with screams and gurgles, violence and death all around her. With a deep, shuddering breath, she went on. "We got through the guerillas and called in a helicopter that had been on standby. Everyone got out, battered and bloody, but alive, our mission satisfactorily completed."

"So, how did you meet Daniel?" She grinned up at him.

"Nathanial told him about me and he called to thank me for saving his son's life. He offered me money," she said in disgust, "and I hung up on him. He didn't like that so he came to see me and after we yelled at each other for a while, we became friends. Since then, he seems to have appointed himself as my protector." Booth laughed at the "Whether I need one or not" she muttered under her breath. Well, he now understood Daniel's interest in his wife, and appreciated it more than he had before.

"Well, he did have a point about the bullets flying and things going boom around you." The disgruntled look she gave him told him plainly that she didn't appreciate the comment from him any more than she had from Daniel, pulling more laughter from him. Disgusted, she tried to push out of his arms, but he refused to let her go. "Baby, did something else happen a couple of years ago?" She went stiff as a board in his arms, telling him that yes, something else had happened. Violently shaking her head, she again tried to pull out of his arms.

"No, Booth. I can't talk about that. Not right now." Her eyes pleaded with him to understand and back off.

"Okay, Baby, take it easy. I can wait until you're ready to tell me. How about we go tell the squint squad that the Board of Directors is taken care of for now?" The relief on her face at his easy acceptance of her refusal to tell him something made his heart ache. She'd had far too little acceptance in her life. Rising from the sofa, he pulled her up beside him and toward the door.

"Wait. Don't you want me to call Daniel?" she questioned in confusion.

"Nah, we'll talk to him later." After all, the man was only watching out for his Bones and Booth couldn't fault him for that. "Let's go talk to the family, then head home. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted and we all need to get some sleep so we can really get started on this case in the morning." Nodding, she followed him out the door to tell her family they didn't have to worry about the board, they just had to worry about someone being out to bomb their house of reason or hurt one of them. Pretty much business as usual.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is the next chapter. It is a little shorter than the others but I hope you enjoy it. Please, please, please review.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth and Brennan had agreed that they should hold off on announcing their marriage to anyone right now, they had enough drama at the moment without adding squints with hurt feelings to the mix. Brennan had called Daniel and asked him to keep the news to himself and he had agreed to do so, smugly pleased with himself for being the only one in the know as it were. Brennan had also bluntly asked him if he was having her and Booth followed. He refused to tell her how he found out about the wedding, but assured her he wasn't having them followed, totally ruining his denial by going on to point out he wouldn't hesitate to have them followed if he deemed it necessary, at which point Booth had snatched the phone right out of her hand and Brennan had tuned out the posturing males and gone to bed.

Booth had joined her shortly; still muttering about arrogant jerks who thought a little power would let them get by with anything. Obviously their truce had suffered a setback. Murmuring comfortingly, she managed to soothe his ruffled feathers with a vigorous round of lovemaking. _God, she hoped the two of them stopped trying to mark their territory soon and learned to get along. Each one taken separately could be a royal pain to deal with but the two of them together were absolutely exhausting. _ Although it was the utter truth, she didn't think her pointing out they were behaving adversarially because they were both alpha males would do her any good, so she kept it to herself for the moment. She already knew it would be pointless to tell Daniel to back off, she had been telling him that for the last three years and it had yet to penetrate his thick skull. He just laughed and told her she was stuck with him until he dropped dead and then she would be Nathanial's problem. Besides, she had grown very fond of him and, sooner or later, he and Booth would find their way with each other, hopefully before they drove her insane.

Everyone met back at the lab at six am the next morning, Hodgins leading a still groggy Angela to her office and leaving her on the couch while the rest of them met to review what evidence they had to go on and decide where to go from there in their search for the Jeffersonian bomber.

Unfortunately, their evidence was very slim. The potassium nitrate used as a catalyst in the explosion had no distinguishing characteristics and was, therefore, untraceable. They didn't even have a good view of the suspect on the security tapes. He had obviously been aware of camera placement and had studiously avoided fully facing each and every one while making his movements appear casual and relaxed. The mark of a real pro. Angela had been able to take stills from several angles and combine them into a realistic approximation of his likeness. They had run it against every database they had access to and come up empty.

They had dusted things he had been seen touching barehanded on the tapes, but had been able to identify all the prints they came up with as belonging to other people. The man didn't appear to have any fingerprints, another mark of a pro. The one concrete piece of evidence they did have that might lead to identification was minute traces of blood found in the blast area. Since he had been the only person in the room, the blood had to be his. They had run the DNA profile through all databases they had access to and, again, come up with nothing. Sitting at the conference table in Cam's office, they looked at each other helplessly, each hoping one of the others would have an epiphany. Finally, Hodgins squared his shoulders and sat forward.

"Look, guys, I know how you will all probably take this, but I think we should run the composite and the DNA profile through the databases of government employees."

"And here we go with the conspiracy theories," Booth snorted, rolling his eyes. Hodgins shot him an affronted look and continued as if he hadn't spoken.

"Think about it, Cam and you, too, Dr. B. Who better to infiltrate the FBI and pose as one of its employees than someone who has been trained in black ops by one of our very own government agencies?" Cam looked very skeptical, but Brennan looked thoughtful. Hodgins' confidence was bolstered when Brennan didn't immediately shoot down his theory. Booth was incredulous.

"Come on, Bones, surely you don't buy that load of crap." Turning to face Booth, she took a moment to answer.

"I didn't say I thought his theory was correct, Booth. But, what would it hurt to do as he suggested? If Hodgins' theory is without merit, we won't find anything. Besides, we don't have anything else to try. Our only other option is to wait until this man strikes again and hope he leaves us some evidence. Is that what you want to do?" With a resigned sigh, Booth shook his head.

"No, I want to catch the scumbag before he tries anything else, but how do you suggest we gain access to all these other databases? I certainly don't have the contacts or security clearance to get us in."

"I might be able to help with that." Everyone swung around to see Cullen standing in the doorway, obviously having been there long enough to overhear at least part of their conversation. Flushing a little when he realized it looked like he had been eavesdropping; he stepped into the room and held his hands out in a placating gesture. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. I just stopped by to ask a couple of questions on my way into the office and overheard what you were saying." Rubbing a hand over his head, he looked at Hodgins. "I can't say I put a lot of faith in your theory, Dr. Hodgins, but I agree with Dr. Brennan that it can't hurt to give it a shot. Now I have the contacts to get us access to a couple of databases, but my security clearance won't get us access to anywhere near all of the personnel records." Booth's brow raised in surprise. He would have thought Cullen's security clearance would get them access to pretty much anything. Noticing Booth's look, Cullen shrugged.

"Couldn't you just ask for interagency cooperation?" suggested Cam. Booth and Cullen snorted at the same time.

"Yeah, if we all want to grow old and die while waiting on them to get back to us. No, we need someone with a very high security clearance." Cullen's confidence in interagency cooperation was less than inspiring to the squints.

"How high?" questioned Brennan softly. Looking at her in surprise, Cullen considered for a moment before answering.

"A top secret clearance from the DOD would be able to access all personnel files on all databases. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone with that clearance who owes me a favor." Cullen pulled out a chair and flopped down dejectedly.

"I do," offered Brennan, "know someone with that security clearance classification," she clarified at Cullen's raised brow. Sitting up in his chair and leaning forward, he pinned her with a hopeful stare.

"Who?"

"Me," she answered. Leaning back in his chair, he chuckled in genuine amusement.

"Good one, Dr. Brennan. You almost had me there for a minute." The utter silence of the others finally penetrated his chuckles and he looked up to find them all looking at him without a trace of humor. Dr. Brennan looked positively disgruntled. His attention focused on Booth. "She's kidding. Right, Booth?"

"No, Sir, she doesn't kid about stuff like that. If she says she has the clearance, you can count on it." Before Cullen could respond, Brennan turned to him with a glare.

"You thought I was lying," she accused. Turning to Booth, she demanded, "What would I possibly have to gain by being untruthful about my security clearance?" Placing his hand on top of one of hers on the table and stroking his thumb across the back of it, he sighed.

"Calm down, Bones. He didn't think you were lying. He thought you were telling a joke." Her brow furrowed in confusion. Booth thought it was adorable.

"But, Booth, I made a factual statement. There was nothing funny about it." Cullen was thankful when a snicker escaped Hodgins and Brennan turned the glare on him, relieving Cullen of the hot seat for a few seconds. Hodgins just gave Brennan a wink and a grin. She found it impossible to maintain her stoic expression against his laughing blue eyes and finally grinned back at him.

"Well, my contacts and Dr. Brennan's security clearance will get us into the State Department and Homeland Security, but that still leaves a lot of agencies that we have no access to." Cullen sounded almost defeated.

"I think we should definitely check the CIA," volunteered Hodgins.

"Why?" questioned Booth.

"Because that's where they train the spooks, Dude." Rolling his eyes, Booth didn't even try to dispute the statement.

"And I suppose you have a way to check the CIA personnel records, bug man?" Hodgins' smug smile gave him away before he nodded his head.

"Yep, but I can't discuss it with the man in the room."

"What man, Booth? Does he mean you or Cullen?" Brennan whispered loudly, leaning in close to Booth. The other three hid their smirks of amusement behind their hands as Booth smiled gently at her and leaned over, whispering something in her ear.

"Well, why didn't he just say that, Booth?" Grinning, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I don't know, Baby, you'll have to ask him that." Glancing up, they saw the other three staring at them with open mouthed astonishment.

"What?" they demanded at the same time. Three sets of eyes darted around the room, avoiding theirs. Looking at each other they shrugged at the odd behavior of the other three, neither realizing Booth's slip of the tongue or how truly intimate the gesture had appeared to the others. Getting to his feet, Cullen motioned for Booth to do the same.

"Booth, if I could talk to you in the hall for a minute, we'll give these three some privacy without the man." Booth smirked at Hodgins, but Hodgins just sniffed and refused to respond. At the door, Cullen turned back to the group still seated around the conference table. "Dr. Brennan, I almost forgot why I came by. Are you aware that the board is still meeting this afternoon?"

"What?" gasped Cam, spinning to look at Cullen. "Are you sure?" He nodded and Cam spun back to face Brennan who shrugged unconcernedly. "Brennan, I thought you said everything was taken care of." Even Brennan caught the panic in Cam's voice. Reaching across the table, she took one of Cam's hands in hers, squeezing it reassuringly.

"It is taken care of, Cam. Please trust me." Meeting her level gaze and hearing the absolute conviction in her voice calmed Cam's nerves considerably.

"Thank you," Cam whispered simply, returning the hand squeeze. Cullen cleared his throat and they all looked toward him.

"Booth assures me that you are a bunch of geniuses." Hodgins and Brennan nodded while Cam regarded him quizzically. "So I can only assume that if you are planning on doing something illegal, you'll at least be good enough at it not to get caught." Now Brennan looked puzzled, but Cam and Hodgins were smiling broadly and nodding vigorously. Cullen returned the smile. "Good. See that you don't then. I would hate for Booth to have to arrest the whole bunch of you." Turning, he strode out of the room. With a wink at Brennan, Booth followed behind him.

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Five hours later, Booth and Brennan trudged tiredly into the Jeffersonian. They had just spent the better part of the day at the Office of Homeland Security and the State Department. Cullen had arranged access but Brennan had to be onsite to use her security clearance and just getting through the security checkpoints to those parts of the buildings had taken forever. They had searched the personnel databases at both agencies and what did they have to show for it? Not a damn thing, that's what. They were both tired and hungry and Booth was more than a little cranky.

"Any luck?" Hodgins called out cheerfully as soon as they were inside the doors. Brennan shook her head and they headed toward her office only to find Hodgins hot on their heels, gripping a folder tightly in his hands. "Well I did find something," he said proudly, handing the folder to Booth.

Booth flipped the folder open, flipped through the contents and suddenly froze, his eyes darted to the very satisfied face of Hodgins and back to the folder. Flipping back to the front of the folder, he started perusing the pages slowly. Brennan was trying to look over his shoulder but couldn't see clearly enough to make out what he was looking at. Looking from Hodgins' face to Booths she knew whatever was in that folder was major.

"What is it, Booth?"

"Hmm?"

"The folder, Booth." Brennan pointed to the folder wanting to snatch it out of his hands and look for herself but managing to control those urges. "What's in the folder, Booth?" He raised dazed brown eyes to meet curious blue ones.

"Hodgins was right. The guy who tried to blow up the lab is one of ours. He's CIA, Bones. What the hell is going on?" Good question. Unfortunately, no one had any answers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here we go, people. The next installment in my little saga. I hope you enjoy it, but either way, please take the time to review and let me know.**

**Disclaimer: They're not mine.**

By 5 PM that night, Cam, Hodgins and Angela were useless in the lab. They had gone from nervous clock watching around three to practically chewing their nails off waiting to hear from the board. Brennan calmly went about her business of identifying remains from Limbo with the assistance of Wendell who just kept looking at the others in confusion. Even though Wendell knew about the events of the previous day, Booth and Brennan had insisted on keeping him out of the loop with what they had learned since then until they were certain the knowledge would not place him in danger. Booth had returned to his office a couple of hours earlier to try to track down any info he could on one James Hale, CIA agent and Jeffersonian bomber. Brennan didn't even look up as Angela entered Limbo, hoping she would just sit quietly and not interrupt their work. After the third loud sigh sent in her direction by the artist, Brennan finally gave it up and turned her attention to her friend.

"Did you need something, Ange?" Angel threw her an Are you kidding me look, but shook her head.

"Bren, how can you be so calm?"

"I don't know what you mean, Ange." Angela looked at her incredulously and saw that her friend was sincere.

"Bren, the board of directors could be dissolving your partnership with Booth at this very second and you're just standing around not worried about it at all."

"I am not just standing around, Ange. I'm doing my job. And, I've already told all of you that the board is taken care of. They will not be dissolving my partnership with Booth." _Not today, anyway_, she thought, almost wishing she had given Daniel permission to take care of the problem permanently. She had absolute faith is Daniel's ability to take care of the problem and was having difficulty understanding why her friends couldn't just take her word for it. Before she could voice any of her thoughts, Hodgins rushed into the room, breathless from his dash to find them.

"Cam's office, now," he ordered before turning to rush right back out of the room. Angela stood and ran after him. Brennan calmly removed her gloves, indicating that Wendell should do the same, and leisurely made her way to Cam's office to find three very impatient squints awaiting her arrival.

"What is it, Cam?" she asked.

"An email from the board." Nervousness was apparent in Cam's voice.

"What does it say?" The other three gave Brennan an exasperated look.

"We don't know, Bren. Cam didn't want to open it until we were all together." Angela told her. Brennan was touched and gave her little family a level look, trying to instill them with her confidence that it would all be ok. Cam sat down in the chair behind her desk and they all gathered behind her.

With a shaking hand, Cam reached out and opened the email. Yes, she knew as a department head that she should read the email and disseminate the information it contained as appropriate, but this affected them all deeply and she saw no reason not to share it with her family. They all scanned the fairly short email, exchanged looks, then read it again.

"What the hell?" demanded Hodgins. Cam, Angela and Wendell looked a little scared and Brennan was puzzled by her family's reaction. She had thought her friends would be rejoicing that the board wasn't severing ties with the FBI and the email plainly stated they had reevaluated and the professional relationship with the agency was too beneficial to both parties to ever be abandoned. Brennan could see that Daniel had ignored her wishes and taken care of the problem permanently, but was too relieved to be angry at him.

"What?" asked Brennan, looking between the other four, brow furrowed deeply. "They don't even mention the lab being blown up."

"Exactly," Cam answered, chewing on her lower lip, they hadn't mentioned the explosion in the lab, not one single, solitary word and that was not good. She knew Brennan wasn't good at grasping subtle nuances of situations, especially in the form of emails. She tended to take things literally, but Cam had enough experience with the board to recognize a veiled threat when she read one. "I think the Board of Directors just declared war on this lab."

"What?" gasped Brennan, "Where does it say that?"

"Right here," answered Cam, pointing to the section, just as Hodgins began to read aloud.

"The board has come to the conclusion that, in the current economic atmosphere, budget cuts have become necessary to keep the Jeffersonian financially solvent. To those ends, Dr. Saroyan, we must sadly inform you that your staff will be cut by 20% within the next six months. It is your responsibility to evaluate your staff and identify extraneous personnel who can be released without significant impact on the Medico-Legal Lab's ability to perform at the optimal level. Salary and length of service can be disregarded. In fact, we require that you evaluate each and every employee of the lab and submit those evaluations and recommendations, in writing, to this board, no later than one month from today's date. Your recommendations will be considered, but the board will make the final decisions on the personnel cuts. We will, of course, also be evaluating your position." Hodgins' voice was shaking with anger by the time he finished reading and Angela walked over, wrapping her arms around him.

"I don't understand." Brennan rubbed her forehead where a headache was taking up residence. "Why would you think them making budget cuts means they're declaring war on us?" Spinning her chair around to face the forensic anthropologist, Cam sighed and met her eyes.

"Brennan, they're only cutting the other departments by 8-10%. They have singled this department out for much heavier cuts. And that last sentence is meant to let me know if I don't go along with it, they will make sure I'm one of the "personnel cuts". In fact, they're letting us know that no one's job is secure." Brennan hadn't seen anything directed at them personally from the email but she trusted Cam and if Cam said they were being targeted by the board, she was willing to accept that.

"But, why would they do that, Cam?" Brennan was genuinely puzzled. Hodgins, Angela and Wendell looked at her incredulously, but Cam patiently explained.

"Because we stopped them from severing the relationship between us and the FBI. This is payback. They're telling us they are still in charge."

"So, this is because of what I had Daniel do? It's my fault?" Brennan looked crushed that her ace in the hole had backfired like this.

"It's politics, Bren." Angela hastened to reassure her visibly upset friend.

"It's not your fault, Dr. B. We had to do something or we wouldn't be working with the FBI anymore. We didn't have a choice." Hodgins threw in his own comforting words.

"Brennan, Hodgins is right. We had to do something. You were able to stop that disaster and the board is just throwing their weight around, trying to make us suffer for standing up to them." Cam reached out and squeezed her hand. Brennan squeezed back but looked very troubled.

"But I just made things worse, didn't I?" With a sigh, Cam shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know," she admitted. "This is bad, but you at least bought us a little time." Seeing Brennan's mouth open, Cam knew exactly what she was going to say and hurried into further explanation. "If this is a personal attack on us, we now have a month to figure out a way around it. Brennan, this is not your fault." Cam assured her earnestly, but Brennan didn't look like she believed it.

"Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of really weird things are happening around here at the same time?" Wendell was a little leery of expressing his opinion, but was encouraged when Brennan turned to him with a small smile.

"What do you mean, Wendell?" Swiping his hand through his hair nervously, he answered.

"I mean some guy impersonating an FBI tech and trying to blow up the lab, then the board threatening to break you and Booth up. Doesn't all of that seem a little coincidental to you?"

"Dammit, Hodgins, I told you to stop spouting off in front of Wendell. It's bad enough that he's already a squint but now, you've turned the most normal person around here into a conspiracy theorist." All eyes turned to a very irritated Booth as he entered the room, glaring at Hodgins. Hodgins glared right back. Before they could really get into an argument, Brennan stepped between them.

"Booth, we already know Wendell is right about a connection between the events." She turned back to Wendell. "Are you saying you think someone on the board is behind the bombing?" He hadn't really been saying that but when she put it like that, it did make a twisted kind of sense.

"Maybe," he started, but Brennan shook her head.

"Wendell, we identified the person who was responsible for the bombing. It really doesn't make any sense for one of the board members to cause damage to this lab and…," she was cut off by Booth.

"Hell, Bones, nothing about any of this makes sense." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Did you find out anything about you know who?" questioned Hodgins, conspiratorially. Booth rolled his eyes at the other man's tone, but shook his head in answer. He had uncovered exactly zilch and was beyond frustrated with the entire situation.

"What happened with the board meeting?" Booth had been more than a little anxious for the past few hours. He knew Brennan had complete faith in Daniel but he didn't know the man well enough to be able to just believe whatever he said, especially after knowing he had lied to him about how he and Brennan had met. Oh, Booth understood why he couldn't just tell him how they had become acquainted but still, Daniel would have to prove himself before he had Booth's loyalty. Brennan opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a security guard sticking his head into the office.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but, Dr. Brennan, you have a visitor waiting for you in your office." Brennan nodded and started for the door with Booth following. She turned back to him with a smile.

"You should stay and let Cam explain the memo from the board to you. I'll be right back." With a nod, Booth turned back to the squints who all started talking at once, trying to fill him in on the latest development. Upon catching sight of her visitor, Brennan stopped two steps into her office. She so did not have time for this right now. With an inward sigh, she continued toward the man who had his back to the door, perusing the volumes on her bookshelf.

"Hello, General." He swung around with a genuine smile of pleasure on his face and held out his hand.

"Hello, Dr. Brennan. It's good to see you again." He grinned at her firm handshake. He always enjoyed his little visits with Dr. Brennan. She absolutely fascinated him, her intelligence was remarkable but her fire and spirit brought him endless entertainment. After all, it wasn't every day that you met a woman capable of making grown, military men cry, which he had actually seen her do on more than one occasion. He, personally, had never had a problem with her, hence, him being chosen for this visit. Walking behind her desk, Brennan gestured for him to take a seat. Eying the open door, he raised a brow.

"May I?" With a sigh, she nodded, giving him permission to close the door. _Well, he definitely hadn't dropped by for a friendly chat_. She hadn't really thought so, but one could always hope.

"Why are you here, General?" she asked quietly as soon as he was seated. He laughed aloud, used to her abruptness. In fact, he found it refreshing to always know where you stood with her in a town where double talk was the standard rather than the exception.

"We need your help, Dr. Brennan," he answered, all traces of humor gone.

"I don't do that anymore, General. You know that." Her tone was pleasant, but he noted her clenched jaw and sighed. _God, he hated to do this to her, but an order was an order._

"Dr. Brennan, I know you had a bad experience," he saw her eyes widen with incredulity then flare with anger, her hands clenching into fists and quickly backtracked. "I'm sorry, Dr. Brennan. I had no business bringing that up and yes, I am aware that your services are now strictly those of a forensic anthropologist, but I wouldn't be here if this wasn't important." Slowly forcing her jaw to unclench, Brennan studied the man seated before her. She knew him to be a good, honest man, but she also knew he would do whatever his orders told him to and his expression told her it wasn't something that she was going to be agreeable to.

"What is it, exactly, that you're asking me to do, General?" Her answer was going to be no, but she was a little curious. Different branches of the government had approached her several times in the last two years asking for favors, but no one had sent in the big guns since she had made it clear that she wasn't interested.

"Perez is back." He said simply.

"No," she whispered. Wincing in sympathy at the look of fear and fury that flashed in her eyes before she brought herself under control, he wasn't sure if she was giving him her answer or denying his statement. Clearing her throat, she stiffened her spine and met his gaze levelly. "I'm sorry to hear that, General, but I can't help you." He heard the finality in her words but gave it one more shot.

"Dr. Brennan, it wouldn't be like it was before. You would be made aware of the entire plan. We would keep nothing from you." He could see that she didn't believe him and really couldn't blame her, not after what had happened two years ago.

"It really doesn't matter, General. Bait is bait and I have no desire to ever be used like that again. So, my answer is no." He knew nothing he said was going to change her mind. With a sigh, he stood and extended his hand. "Just so you know, Dr. Brennan, I'm not giving up. We need your help to stop this murdering bastard." She shook his hand and met his eyes with a look of determination.

"Just so you know, General. I won't be changing my mind, but it was good to see you again." He couldn't help but smile at the comment.

"You too, Dr. Brennan. Take care of yourself." Brennan sank back down into her chair as the General left her office, shuddering at the black thoughts swirling through her mind.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello. Sorry this one took so long, but I just couldn't resist adding some gratuitous sex. It seems like forever since I wrote some, so let me know if I didn't quite hit the mark with this one. Thanks so much to all for the reviews and please continue the trend. Musie writes more when she is happy and reviews make her happy. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: No, they're not mine.**

Booth entered Brennan's office mere minutes after the Generals departure, having gained all the information he could from the squints, he wanted to have a private conversation with his wife. _Actually, he wanted to kiss her senseless but that also required a little privacy,_ he thought with a smile. He quickly lost his smile as he noticed Brennan practically curled up in her office chair, staring blankly into space.

"Hey," he said softly, sinking to a squat directly beside the chair. She didn't even glance at him. "Bones," he said more loudly, laying a hand on her forearm and almost tumbled backward when she jumped violently at his touch. She blinked several times then focused on him.

"I'm sorry, Booth. I was thinking about something. Did you need me for something?"

"Yeah, but it can wait. Are you ok?" He tenderly brushed his knuckles across her cheek. Giving him a soft smile, she caught his hand in hers and pressed it against her cheek.

"I'm fine," she assured him softly, absently running the fingers of her free hand through his hair. He was certain he had interrupted her thinking about something that really bothered her but she obviously wasn't ready to talk about it yet, so he didn't push. "What did you need, Booth?" Noting his grin and the way his eyes darkened, she had a pretty good idea of what was on his mind. Standing up, he pulled her up from her chair and against his chest, one arm snaking around her waist, the other hand tilting her face upwards.

"You, Baby. I need you," he whispered as his head descended, his lips rubbing softly against hers then settling firmly to nudge them apart as her arms slid up his chest and wound tightly around his neck. Her mouth opened and his tongue entered to lazily explore the familiar territory. With a little moan, she pressed herself closer and the kiss suddenly turned hungry for both of them, tongues tangling and hands beginning to wander.

"Ahem," Daniel cleared his throat for the third time, looking at the embracing couple. He was tempted to just walk away and leave them to it. After all, what he had come here for could wait until tomorrow, but what he had seen on his way in couldn't. It was obvious that politeness wasn't going to get their attention and he needed to do that soon before they were all embarrassed. Taking a deep breath, he bellowed, "Hello" into the room and grinned at the way they jumped apart, wiping the grin off his face as they both turned to glare at him.

"Daniel, hi," said Brennan, straitening her blouse. Booth just glared at the man. Daniel walked into the office and took a seat.

"Red, I just heard about what the board pulled and I'm sorry. Apparently I didn't make myself clear enough to them but I'll take care of it." Booth snorted and Daniel shot him a disgruntled look.

"I'm not sure we can survive more of your help, Daniel." Daniel stiffened in affront at Booth's comment, even Brennan gave him a chastising look and Booth was ashamed of himself. Daniel had helped them out, keeping their partnership intact, he was just a little resentful over Daniel's possessiveness toward Brennan, but that was something he was just going to have to work out for himself.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. That was uncalled for and we really do appreciate your help." Brennan beamed at him and squeezed his hand. Daniel studied Booth closely for a moment then nodded his acceptance of the apology.

"Daniel, are you sure you can take care of this without any repercussions for the people in this lab?" Brennan questioned earnestly. Daniel nodded without hesitation. He was absolutely certain. He had been a little heavy handed with the first round because of the time constraints, but he had time to finesse this next round and nobody was better at bringing people to their knees than him. And for this woman he would do whatever it took to keep her safe and happy, which brought him to the next matter at hand. Her safety.

"I'm sure, Red." Brennan nodded and Booth was, once again, stunned at her easy acceptance of this man's word. "I ran into General Hood on my way in." Daniel continued conversationally and Booth noted the way Brennan stiffened at the name and shot a furtive glance in his direction. Daniel knew she was telling him not to say anything in front of Booth but her husband had a right to know that the General coming to visit Brennan was not a good thing. "I'm assuming he was here to see you. After all, not many people in this building would warrant a visit from one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." Brennan's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"That's enough, Daniel." She snapped, but she was too late. Booth already had too much information for him to just let it go, not that he would have done that anyway and she had been planning on telling him about the visit at home tonight, just not the whole story, she wasn't quite ready for that just yet.

"What? Why would one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the President be coming to see you, Bones?" Booth demanded. After shooting daggers at Daniel with her eyes, she turned her attention to her husband, her expression immediately softening at the expression of panic on his face. He already had a very good idea what the visit had been about.

"He asked me for a favor, Booth." Seeing the panic quickly increasing, she rushed to continue, reaching for his hand and squeezing it reassuringly, "I told him no, Booth." She smiled as he relaxed and the panic receded.

"It must have been important to bring Hood out of his office," Daniel offered, praying he was wrong about the reason for the visit. Brennan's attention shifted back to him.

"He thought so," she knew it was pointless to try to evade Daniel's questions; he would just nag her until she told him. "Perez is back."

"Son of a …," Daniel sprang from his chair and started furiously pacing in front of Brennan's desk, continuing to curse under his breath. Brennan just watched him pacing, knowing he would calm down soon and have many more questions, questions she really didn't want to answer in front of Booth. Just as Daniel turned back to Brennan and jerked his phone out of his pocket, Booth's phone rang insistently. Pulling it out of his pocket, he checked the caller ID and silently cursed as he saw it was Cullen.

"Bones, I have to take this. It's Cullen, but I'll be right out there if you need me." he pointed right outside her office doorway. She nodded, trying not to let her relief show.

"Go ahead, Booth. I'm fine." Nodding, he walked right outside her office door and stopped, answering the call but not taking his eyes off of her and Daniel. Daniel set his phone on Brennan's desk, it obviously set on speakerphone.

"Daniel, I told him no. There's no need to get so upset." He just looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"Red, you of all people, should know these people don't take no for an answer. They get what they want one way or another." Before he could say anything else, the phone was suddenly answered.

"Dammit, Dad, this really isn't a good time," snarled a voice Brennan instantly recognized. She smiled until she heard a distinctive pop-pop-pop in the background which she also instantly recognized.

"Nathaniel," gasped Brennan in horror, "is someone shooting at you?"

"Hello, gorgeous. Yeah, a couple of bad guys are taking potshots at us, but don't worry, we're fine." His tone was now relaxed, sounding as if he had all the time in the world to chat, Booth noted in disbelief as he listened with one ear to what Cullen was saying, the rest of his attention completely focused on the tableau playing out in Brennan's office.

"Daniel, you really shouldn't distract him while someone's shooting at him. You should call him back later," Brennan advised.

"No!" yelled Nathaniel. "Just hold on a second." They heard gunfire much closer to the phone and Nathaniel yelling to his team, "Clean it up, boys." Then, "Ok, I'm back. So, Beautiful, what can I do for you today? We're not going on safari again are we?" Brennan laughed heartily.

"We never went on safari, Nathaniel. They were always digs." The sounds of gunfire suddenly ceased. "And I didn't call you. Your father did, so you'll have to ask him what the purpose of the call is."

"But I'd much rather talk to you than to him." Brennan laughed again, not noticing the scowl that was getting darker by the second on Booth's face. Daniel did notice and tried to intervene before his son said something to cause Brennan real problems.

"Nate.." he began, only to be interrupted by his son.

"Just a minute, Dad. I know it's not Thursday but I just can't resist, Temperence Brennan" he said playfully to Brennan, "will you marry me?" Daniel winced at the look on Booth's face. Brennan laughed.

"No," she shot back. Nathaniel sighed theatrically.

"One of these days I'm going to finally wear you down and you're going to say yes." He assured her.

"I find that highly doubtful," growled Booth, stalking back into the room, his conversation with Cullen over. Brennan glanced at him, startled by the hostility in his tone.

"Who the hell is that?" snapped Nathaniel.

"Her husband," snapped Booth right back.

"Her what?" demanded Nathaniel.

"You heard me," growled Booth, not liking the possessive tone in the other man's voice one little bit.

"That's Agent Booth," inserted Daniel smoothly, desperately trying to save the situation. It was obvious Brennan had no idea what was going on between the two men.

"Ah, the suit," Nathaniel's tone wasn't complimentary. Daniel finally thought to snatch up the phone just as Booth reached for it, his face full of fury. Brennan might not know why Booth was angry, but she knew he was and shot to her feet, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of her office.

"Booth, what is wrong with you?" she asked quietly.

"What's wrong with me? Are you _serious_?" he asked in disbelief.

"Of course I'm serious. Why are you so angry?" He couldn't believe she was asking him that. Rubbing the nape of his neck in agitation, he studied her face and saw she genuinely didn't understand.

"That guy asked you to marry him practically in my face," he snapped, his voice rising despite his best attempt to prevent it, causing several people to glance their way. Brennan actually snorted, almost setting him off again.

"Booth, Nathaniel was just kidding." _She was serious_, he noted incredulously. She had no idea the guy had been completely serious with the proposal, but Booth had heard the sincerity in his voice. The guy was obviously in love with her and would marry her in a minute and she was completely oblivious. He didn't know why he was surprised, but he was. He was also livid, but not at her. It wasn't her fault, he repeated to himself, forcing himself to calm down. Pulling her into a corner, out of sight of the lab, he pulled her into his arms and rested his forehead against hers.

"I believe you, Baby." At least, he knew she thought she was telling him the truth but no way was he having that conversation with her, especially right now when his feelings were so volatile. She snuggled into him and pulled his head down to kiss him lightly on the lips, but he wouldn't let her pull back, his inner caveman demanding that he put his stamp of ownership on her for all the world to see. His mouth devoured hers and he wanted nothing more than to push her against the wall and show her she belonged to him. He knew he should stop before the situation got embarrassing, but he couldn't force himself to let her go and she certainly wasn't resisting, plastering herself against him and kissing him just as aggressively as he was kissing her. A series of loud throat clearings finally caught his attention.

"What?" snarled Booth, his inner caveman not quite under control.

"You two might want to move that somewhere a little more private," suggested Angela laughingly. "But let me just say, WOW that was HOT." Both gave her sheepish smiles as they disentangled themselves. With a wink and another laugh, Angela turned back to the lab. Knowing what would happen if he kept his hands on Brennan, Booth forced himself to let her go and step back until their bodies weren't plastered together. A movement beyond his shoulder caught her attention and she saw Daniel motioning her back into her office. She also saw he was still on the phone.

"Booth, I need to finish up with Daniel." Glancing over his shoulder, Booth saw that Daniel wanted Brennan's attention and that he was still on the phone. It would be a really bad idea for him to go back into that room right now. "Maybe you should go talk to Hodgins or something," she suggested hesitantly. It wasn't that she didn't want him in there. Exactly. She just didn't need any more drama right now. Tilting her face up, he searched her eyes and nodded slowly. With a smile of relief, she turned to go back into her office, but he caught her arm.

"We will talk about this tonight." He assured her. She nodded and he reluctantly let her go, watching her walk back into her office, his instincts screaming at him to follow her and make sure Nathaniel was in no doubt about who she belonged to, but he knew better than to pull that here. She would have his head on a silver platter and he sure didn't need that. Spinning around, he spotted Angela and Hodgins and walked over to join them. Angela gave him such a wicked grin, he found himself blushing.

"So, Studly, what did you do to get kicked out of Bren's office?" she questioned with a laugh. Booth just grinned good naturedly, then his eyes narrowed. Angela was Brennan's best friend. Booth was telling himself that Brennan had never had a relationship with Nathaniel and even if she had it was none of his business, but if she had, chances are Angela would know about it. He hated himself for stooping to this level, but he couldn't shake hearing the other man propose to his wife.

"Ange, what do you know about a guy named Nathaniel Pearson?" Angela and Hodgins shared a slightly uncomfortable look, but she smiled brightly at Booth.

"What about him?" Booth could see he wasn't going to get anything without giving something first, so he came clean.

"Well, the guy proposed to Bones on the phone and it freaked me out a little." Angela's eyebrow rose but Booth suspected it was over his description of how freaked out he had been. He didn't think she was at all surprised by the proposal.

"What?" gasped Hodgins. "But it's not Thursday," he sputtered. _What the hell did the day of the week have to do with anything? Wait. Now that he thought about it Nathaniel had said the same thing. No, what he was thinking couldn't be right_. Booth turned back to Angela.

"Please tell me this guy doesn't propose to her every Thursday."

"Of course not, Booth." She patted his arm as he almost sagged in relief. "He only proposes every other Thursday." Looking into her eyes, Booth saw she wasn't kidding. Not even a little.

"For how long?" he demanded. Patting his arm again, she shook her head.

"That's something you'll have to ask Bren." Turning to stalk back to her office and do just that, he was stopped by Angela's hand on his arm.

"Booth, I honestly don't know how long, but it's just a joke." She assured him earnestly.

"Angela, do you really believe that?" Sighing, she shook her head.

"No, but Bren does and that's what counts here, Booth. She has no idea that he really wants to marry her." They both turned to glare at Hodgins as his snorts turned into laughter.

"What?" they demanded simultaneously.

"Like Dr. B is ever going to get married to anyone. Can you really ever see that happening?" Angela started to giggle and Booth had to turn away to keep himself from yelling at the pair that Brennan was already married to someone. Him. She was his wife. He stalked past Cam without even noticing her.

"What's with him?" she asked the laughing pair.

"He overheard Nathaniel proposing to Bren," giggled Angela.

"What?" gasped Cam. "But it's not Thursday." She just shook her head as the pair broke into fresh gales of laughter. Booth heard Cam and felt his temper shoot up another notch. Apparently he was the only person on the planet who didn't know his wife had been receiving regular marriage proposals from another man. He knew that wasn't fair, but he didn't feel very fair right now. Dammit, he was so jealous he could barely see straight. He just wanted to take his wife home and get to the bottom of this. He was afraid this conversation could easily get very out of hand and home was the only safe place to have it. Luckily, Daniel exited Brennan's office just before Booth reached it and hurried toward the exit, giving Booth a nod in farewell. Entering her office, Booth saw with relief that she was gathering her things in preparation to go home. Glancing up, she gave him a soft smile. Making a concentrated effort, he unclenched his jaw and returned the smile.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked softly. She looked at him warily, but nodded. "Come on, then. Let's go home." Placing his hand in its usual place on the small of her back, they walked out of the Jeffersonian, both secretly hoping they weren't about to have their first major fight as a married couple.

Brennan stalked into the apartment followed closely by a fuming Booth. He had told himself not to start this conversation in the car, but couldn't follow his own advice. He just had to ask. And, of course, she was happy to answer; having no idea it would set him off like a rocket. She still wasn't sure what she had said to make him so angry but she was certain he was angry.

"Booth, I don't understand why you're so angry." Before she could blink, he had her backed up against the front door, his hands firmly planted beside her head, caging her in. The dangerous, slightly out of control look in his eyes sent shivers of delight coursing down her spine.

"Fifty-one times, Bones. The guy proposed to you fifty-one times and you never even mentioned him to me." He growled moving closer until his chest lightly brushed against hers. She licked suddenly dry lips and shivered again when his eyes focused on her mouth, his gaze becoming even hotter.

"Why would I mention him to you, Booth? You don't usually like hearing about the men in my life." His eyes flew to meet hers at this, his eyes almost black with temper or desire. Brennan wasn't sure which, but she was seriously turned on by whatever it was.

"Was he one of the men in your life, Baby?" he asked softly, thumb tracing back and forth over her slightly parted lips, barely holding his inner caveman in check.

"Why would you care if he was, Booth?" she countered, really wanting to know.

"Because you belong to me, Temperence Brennan. Only me." Booth's inner caveman growled. Booth concurred, vehemently. He saw her eyes narrow and knew he was about to get an argument. _Screw that_, he decided. He didn't want to talk any more. He had much more pleasurable methods to get his point across. Spearing both hands into her hair, he tilted her head up, growling, "Mine," just before his lips took hers in a tempestuous kiss, his lips pushing hers apart and his tongue spearing into her mouth to aggressively explore the hidden depths.

With a low moan, she melted against him, her hands gripping his shoulders as her mouth opened under his, spurring him to kiss her deeper, harder. She just wanted more. More of everything. She was already hot and wet for him, every flick of his tongue in her mouth sending darts of desire lancing directly to her core. Finally managing to wrap her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer, gasping in pleasure as the hard, muscled wall of his chest came into contact with the hard, throbbing points of her nipples. Wrapping one leg around his thigh and tilting her pelvis, they both shuddered as her center skimmed his erection, the contact electrifying for both of them even through layers of clothing.

Booth's inner caveman was in full control and Booth wasn't even trying to wrest control back. He was enjoying being out of control too much. He was hot and hard and the only thing that even mattered was making love to his woman until she was limp and sated. Until she knew now and forever that she was his and only his and would never, ever think differently. She made him crazy and he was about to return the favor.

His mouth continued to devour hers as his hands wandered down to cup her breasts, thumbs flicking the already erect nipples, but it wasn't enough, he wanted her naked flesh under his hands and mouth. He wanted to strip her where she stood and pound into her willing body. At the same time, he wanted her writhing underneath him, begging him to satisfy her the way only he could. With a low growl, his hands grasped the sides of her blouse and pulled, easily separating buttons and material. He smiled against her mouth at the gasp of surprise and excitement his action invoked, his hand expertly flicking the front clasp of her bra open and peeling the cups back. Ah, yes, that was what he wanted, his hands molding hot, firm flesh, rolling the pebbled nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, the little whimpers of pleasure she breathed into his mouth making him harder and hotter to have her in every way imaginable.

Brennan felt like she had lava running through her veins, hot and bubbling, her body threatening to burst into flames at any minute. She already knew she liked for Booth to be aggressive, but this Booth, balanced on the edge of completely losing control sent shudders of desire racing through her entire body. She knew he would never hurt her but that dark, almost dangerous look in his eyes just added to her excitement. She wanted him to lose it, wanted him to be as out of control as he made her feel every time he touched her. She gasped and felt his smile of satisfaction against her mouth when he ripped her blouse open and unfastened her bra. She couldn't hold back the whimpers when his hands closed around her breasts, every tug on the turgid nipples sending new quivers of desire unfurling low in her abdomen. Her back arched involuntarily, sending her breasts more firmly into his palms as her hands went to the buttons of his shirt, frantically trying to undo them. _She wanted him naked. Now_. With a cry of frustration, she followed his example, grasping the sides of his shirt and yanking hard, sighing in satisfaction at the pinging sounds of buttons bouncing on the floor and the feel of hard, warm muscles under her hands.

Breath hissing out in pleasure as her nails repeatedly scraped his erect nipples, Booth's hands reluctantly left those lush breasts to quickly divest them of their shirts, pushing her bra off at the same time, leaving them both bare from the waist up. His arms snaked around her, one hand going between her shoulder blades, flattening her breasts against his hard chest, the other settling on the curve of her ass, pulling her tightly against his throbbing hard on and grinding himself against her, both moaning at the contact. _God, he wanted to be inside her. Now, but not until she was ready to admit she belonged to him_. Tearing his mouth away from hers, he almost smiled at her whimper of protest and watched as her eyes fluttered open, almost stealing his breath with the desire swirling there. "Mine," he told her, one hand going to the waistband of her pants and easily slipping the button from its mooring, lazily easing the zipper down a few inches and then back up as he waited for her response.

Brennan looked into brown eyes darkened to almost black by desire and almost gave in, but she could see and feel him softening toward her, losing that dangerous edge that had turned her on so much and agreeing with him wouldn't get her what she wanted. And what she wanted right now just happened to be getting fucked hard and fast against the door with Booth completely out of control. Holding his eyes, she slowly shook her head, barely managing to hold back a grin of satisfaction when his eyes narrowed and flamed, growing even darker. One hand tangled in her hair, pulling her head back just roughly enough to make her gasp and quiver at the hint of violence. Her breath stalled in her throat as his other hand lowered the zipper of her pants and his hand slid into her soaked panties.

"Mine," he growled against her throat as his fingers parted her slick folds, ghosting over her aching clit and lightly caressing the length of her folds.

Gasping and panting, her hips jerking against his hand trying to make him give her what she wanted, she retained just enough sanity to lightly shake her head. His hand pulled her head back further, arching her back and she quivered in anticipation as his lips moved over her collarbone and toward her aching breasts.

"Mine," he repeated sucking a hard nipple into the depths of his mouth at the same instant he thrust two fingers inside her hot, wet channel and his thumb flicked firmly over her clit. _God, she was hot and wet_. He shuddered as her inner walls tightened around his fingers, his erection jerking in response. His inner caveman was roaring to be let loose, to give her what she so obviously wanted, what they both desperately wanted but Booth managed to hang on to enough control to do it his way . He needed to hear her say she knew she was his, then he would gladly give her anything she wanted. Feeling her body growing taunt and her walls tightening even more around his rapidly thrusting fingers, he regretfully withdrew his fingers and with one final flick to her distended clit pulled his hand from her panties. Releasing her nipple, he raised his head and waited for her confused eyes to meet his.

_No, don't stop. Come back_, her body screamed as his fingers withdrew and his hand slid out of her panties. She whimpered and opened dazed eyes to meet his, her body throbbing with every heart beat, so close to a mind blowing orgasm she could practically taste it. _Why did he stop? _She knew he wanted her just as much as she wanted him, she could see it in his face, feel it in the erection he was instinctively grinding against her. Looking down into her face so flushed with desire, his fingers still coated with the evidence of that desire, Booth almost gave in, catching himself just in time.

"Mine," he told her, yet again.

_So he wanted to play, did he? _Her eyes narrowed and her hands went to his belt buckle. She had his belt and pants undone so fast he couldn't stop her from pushing them off of his hips and taking his hard on in her hot, tight fist, stroking him firmly from base to tip. And then he didn't want to stop her, his breath hissing out in grunts with every stroke. He was already so hard he hurt and her movements quickly pushed him toward orgasm, which he had every intention of letting her give him, just not yet.

Grabbing her wrist, he gently forced her hand away from his screaming erection, shaking his head at her when she reached for him again. Stepping back slightly, he pulled off his pants and underwear then hers, tossing them carelessly aside. Stepping in so closely she was pressed against the door, he shuddered as his erection settled into the v of her thighs, unable to resist rubbing against all that wet warmth. With a whimper, her arms went around his neck, pulling his head down and biting his bottom lip aggressively then sucking it into her mouth to soothe the slight sting. One leg came up over his hip and he could feel his tip against her tight entrance, instinctively pushing his hips forward at the same time she tilted her pelvis, he slid a couple of inches inside her, suddenly freezing. It took every scrap of willpower he had not to just push into her tight depths and fuck her hard and fast, but this was important to him. Stepping back slightly, he groaned at the loss of intimate contact.

"No," she moaned, almost sobbing in frustration which turned into moans of delight as his fingers replaced his penis, entering her and setting a hard, fast rhythm, his thumb once again playing with her clit as his other hand roamed her body, touching and caressing in all the places that drove her wild, his tongue thrusting into her mouth in time with his fingers, driving her higher and higher. Perched on the precipice, she felt his hand slow and stop, his fingers starting to withdraw. With a definite sob of frustration, her hand went to his, pressing tightly, trying to hold him in place as her hips jerked frantically against his hand, but she was so weak with desire, she was shaking.

"Booth, please," she moaned as his hand pulled away. She heard him whisper against her ear but it took her a moment to process his words. When she did, her eyes widened slightly. _Fine, if he wanted to be that way, she would take care of this herself._ Before he could guess her intent, her own hand went between her legs, quickly stroking her clit as her eyes drifted shut and her hips jerked spasmodically. Booth groaned, the sight of her touching herself almost sending him over the edge of control. With real regret, he grabbed both of her wrists, pulling her arms above her head and shackling them there with one of his hands.

"No," he said firmly, wanting to laugh at the look of fury on her face. "All you have to do is say it, Baby," he urged as his other hand settled on her right breast, shaping and kneading the lush mound and firmly pinching the nipple. "Just say that you're mine and I'll give you what you want," his hand slid down her toned abdomen and back between her thighs and the obstinate look on her face dissolved into one of open longing. "You know I can give you what you want," he cajoled as his fingers slipped back inside her and his teeth bit down softly on her shoulder. With a shudder, her hips bucked against his hand, her body bowing tightly, so close almost any touch would send her over the edge.

"Yours," she sobbed as she felt his movements slowing, "I'm yours, Booth. Please give me what I want." With a feral growl of male triumph, he had her lifted and impaled on his hard on before she finished the last sentence, both of them shuddering as he pushed deeply inside her slippery depths.

"Say it again," he demanded.

"Yours, Booth. I'm yours. Only yours," she moaned as her arms wrapped around his neck, her lips and teeth attacking his neck. And with those words, Booth gave his inner caveman free reign, roughly pinning her tightly to the door, his hands going to her hips and lifting her as he almost completely withdrew and slamming her back down as he thrust upward.

Brennan became a purely sensate being, every cell in her body permeated by the rising, throbbing tension centered in her groin as he gave her exactly what she had wanted, a hard, fast fuck against the door. Booth's inner caveman gloried in every deep, hard thrust, the pleasure radiating from his cock to every fiber of his being. Every gasp and groan that passed her lips was soaked up and returned by the beast within. Within mere minutes, her walls had tightened around his hard cock so much that he fought down his orgasm at every thrust, unwilling to come before she did. Then he didn't have a choice as she bit down on his earlobe and panted in his ear, "I'm yours, Booth and you're mine. Only mine."

With a roar, his eyes slammed shut as his orgasm raced through him, completely overwhelming him with pleasure more intense than anything he had ever felt before, his hips jerking against her as he poured everything he was into her. Feeling Booth harden even further inside her triggered the most intense orgasm Brennan had ever experienced, ever cell in her body drenched in pleasure as her inner muscles contracted spasmodically, the pleasure seeming to go on forever. Long minutes later, she became aware that she was still pinned to the door with Booth panting in her ear. She was completely relaxed and so weak from her release that she didn't know if she ever wanted to move from this spot, but she guessed they would have to, sooner or later.

"Booth?"

"Hmm?" He was feeling pretty damn good himself, a little weak in the knees but that was to be expected with the kind of explosive climax he had just been treated to. He really should consider letting his inner caveman out to play more often.

"I don't think I can walk," she informed him languidly.

"That's ok, Baby. When you can't walk, I'll carry you," he assured her, pushing away from the door and striding toward the bedroom as her head came to rest sleepily on his shoulder.

"Booth?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you still mad?" Dropping a kiss on her head, he entered the bedroom, walking over and gently laying her on their bed and leaning over her.

"No, Baby, I'm not mad," he assured her, stroking her hair back from her face. Noticing the slight frown on her face and the way she chewed on her lower lip, he sat down beside her hip, caging her in with an arm on either side of her torso. "Why?"

"Because I'm not completely certain what made you so mad in the first place." _Ah, she was trying to figure out what had made him angry so she could avoid doing it again. That was so sweet and so wifely. And so something that his Bones wouldn't do in a million years _he knew with absolute certainty.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked a little suspiciously. Reaching up to run her fingers through his hair, she gave him a sexy grin.

"Well, Booth, it's a scientific fact that to achieve exactly the same results in a given situation, the same stimuli must be used." _What the hell was she talking about?_ Then it hit him. She had liked it, liked it enough to want to repeat the process, in fact. With a husky laugh, he lay down beside her, propping his head on one hand and running the fingers of his other hand lightly over her abdomen.

"Bones, I really don't like to get that mad, so how about anytime you want a repeat performance you just say so. Okay?" Nodding, she turned on her side facing him, her hands sliding up his chest to lock around his neck, pulling his head toward her.

"I want a repeat performance, Booth," she whispered as her lips met his. Smiling against her lips, he rolled her onto her back and proceeded to give her exactly what she wanted which he would spend the rest of his life trying to do. After all she belonged to him and he belonged to her and they always would belong to each other.


	6. Chapter 6

**You people have restored my confidence in my ability to write smut and I thank you for it. You all know how this works. I give you words strung together in a, hopefully, entertaining manner and you give me reviews. Win/Win. **

**Disclaimer: No, still not mine.**

Brennan stifled a yawn and stood up, stretching out the ache in her lower back from being bent over the table in Limbo for so long, examining some WWII remains. Tiredly glancing at her watch, she saw it was just after 5 PM and decided the remains could wait until tomorrow. She and Booth had gotten almost no sleep last night and it wasn't because they had spent the time talking. Just thinking about some of the things they had done last night sent shivers down her spine, but she was paying for it today because she was so exhausted she'd had trouble staying awake. With a wicked grin, she wondered how Booth was faring in court, where he'd been scheduled to testify before lunch on a case she hadn't worked with him. Of course, with the way the justice system worked, he was still there and probably would have to go back tomorrow. With another yawn, she made her way to her office, thinking she would have a little nap on her couch until he came to pick her up to go home. Reviewing her notes on the body she had been examining as she walked into her office, she failed to notice the man standing in the corner watching her with hooded eyes.

"Hello, Dr. Brennan."

The scratchy, distinctive voice stopped her in her tracks, her heart rate speeding up and her palms suddenly becoming damp as feelings of panic and rage swept over her. _No_, she told herself, _it couldn't be him. He was not standing in her office. Surely even he wasn't that stupid_. Stiffening her spine, she slowly turned on her heel. Apparently she had overestimated his intelligence because he was, indeed, standing in her office smiling at her as if they were old friends. Gathering every shred of courage and confidence she possessed, she walked behind her desk and reached for the phone, but his hand beat hers there and she recoiled, unwilling to touch him in any way. Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she glared at him.

"Get out," she spat. He laughed, enjoying her reaction to his presence.

"Now, now, Temperence. Is that any way to treat an old friend?" She was enraged by his very existence, but he was deliberately blocking her path to the door and she couldn't force herself to get close enough to him to leave the room.

"Don't call me Temperence and we were never friends, you bastard. I know what you did. I know what you are." Her spine stiffened and her voice was growing stronger, she wasn't going to let this piece of slime cow her in her own office. He sighed, keeping his distance for the moment.

"Be that as it may, Temperence. I find myself in the position of needing your assistance, so I dropped by to ask nicely." He perched a hip on her desk and she made a mental note to burn it when he left.

"I will never help you." Her voice rang with sincerity. He picked up a framed photo of her and Booth and the rest of the squints from her desk and studied it closely.

"You should never say never, Temperence. You might not want to, but I think you'll come around to my way of thinking eventually. Unfortunately, I don't have time to just sit around and twiddle my thumbs until you change your mind." Turning the picture toward her, he continued, "Nice looking bunch of friends, Temperence. It would be very…unfortunate if something were to happen to them. I hear there was an explosion here in this very lab not long ago. Nasty business." Brennan wasn't a genius for nothing, her mind instantly making connections.

"It was you. You were behind the explosion," she gasped, absolutely certain she was right. "But why? Why would you try to kill my friends?" He laughed in genuine amusement.

"Temperence, if I wanted your friends dead, they would be dead." She shivered at the ice in his voice, believing every word. She knew from experience that he was ruthless enough to order the deaths of her friends without a second's hesitation or remorse. "Let's just say it was a misguided attempt on my part to separate you from you current partner."

"What? Why would you want to separate me from Booth?" Her anger was beginning to override her caution and her hands fisted at her sides. He noticed and grinned knowingly at her then shrugged carelessly at her question. She desperately wanted this awful man as far away from her as it was possible to get, but she also had the chance to get some answers and she couldn't just throw it away.

"I had heard how protective he is of you and thought you might be more amenable to my suggestion if he wasn't around to influence your decision. That was, of course, before I found out he was your current paramour and that point became moot. Really, Temperence, a beautiful, successful woman like you can do much better than that," he chided as if he was genuinely concerned for her. The entire situation felt surreal to Brennan, this horrible man appearing to be concerned about anyone other than himself was a farce of unbelievable proportions, but she wasn't about to argue with the maniac.

Oblivious to the unfolding drama in Brennan's office, Angela and Cam stood on the platform having a casual conversation about nothing in particular. Noting that she seemed to have lost Angela's attention and the way Angela's eyes widened, her jaw practically dropping, Cam swung around to face the door of the lab and felt her own jaw drop.

"Oh my," breathed Cam.

"God," finished Angela, her voice just as breathless as Cam's had been as their eyes roved over the four men who had just walked through the lab doors. Not a single one of them was less than 6' 1" and they were each and every one the very epitome of drop dead gorgeous hard bodies, the women noted as they came closer. They were obviously military. If their bearing and haircuts hadn't given it away, the camo would certainly have done the trick. Coming to a halt at the bottom of the platform, they all looked up at the two women and both felt their hearts give a little flutter at having so much very, very male attention focused on them.

"Hi," the apparent leader flashed the women a smile, revealing an adorable dimple in his right cheek, "We're looking for Dr. Brennan." When both women just continued to stare, he cleared his throat, shuffled his feet a little and actually blushed, which Angela found more than adorable. Cam finally shook herself out of her stupor, blushing furiously as she looked into laughing blue eyes, getting the impression these men were used to the effect they had on women.

"I'm sorry. How can we help you?" Cam asked in her best official voice.

"Can you tell us where to find Dr. Brennan?" Angela also shook off the stupor. She knew that voice, but no way could it be who she thought it was. Surely Brennan would have shared with her if the man proposing to her twice a month was this gorgeous.

"Sure," said Cam pointing toward Brennan's office.

"Thanks," the dimple appeared again and now Angela was positive.

"Nathaniel?" she asked incredulously. Pulling his attention from Brennan's office, he focused his full attention on her and Angela had no idea how her best friend had resisted him for a week much less two years.

"Yeah, and you're Angela. And you're Cam." Both women nodded, surprised that he knew that, then a little suspicious of how he knew that. As if he could read their minds, he laughed, "Red talks about you guys a lot," he assured them. The other three nodded in confirmation. Nathaniel started to politely introduce the three men accompanying him, but was interrupted by a muffled curse from behind him.

"Son of a bitch, Rodrigo's with Red." Without another word, Nathaniel swung around and looked where his fellow soldier pointed, feeling the need to get to her immediately to protect her from that piece of shit. Like the well oiled unit they were, the four men moved across the floor as one, approaching Brennan's office somewhat stealthily.

"Wow," said Cam, fanning herself as her eyes remained glued to the departing men.

"Yeah," agreed Angela, "Chippendales in camo. Brennan must have more willpower than even we knew because there is no way I would turn that down."

"I hear that," sighed Cam.

"What do you want?" Brennan demanded. Rodrigo gave her a smile of approval.

"I want you to help General Hood take out Perez." Brennan couldn't help the shudder of revulsion that shook her at the mere mention of her nemesis. She looked at the man sitting on her desk disbelievingly.

"Why? Why do you want your boss dead? If I remember correctly and, trust me, I do, you and he are close, personal friends." Her voice trembled with the fury behind her words, her eyes consigning him to hell.

"Ah, Temperence, still full of fire. I'm so glad to see your little encounter with Manuel didn't break that spirit. That is his specialty, you know, breaking people," he said cruelly. "But then you would know that, having seen it up close and personal." Seeing her cheeks blanch at the reminders of exactly what she had seen up close and personal, he sighed. "Forgive me, Temperence. That was uncalled for. Back to your question, Manuel and I have had a slight misunderstanding. I have two options to straighten things out and they both involve you."

"I will never help you. Never," she insisted stubbornly. He acted as if she hadn't spoken.

"The first option, and my personal favorite, is you help Hood with his little plan and Manuel is eliminated permanently. The second option which I find more than a little repugnant, by the way, is I hand you over to Manuel myself and all will be forgiven. So you see, either way I win, but sadly with the second option you will be very, very dead or at least wish you were. I thought it only fair to present the options to you and let you choose your own fate." Brennan could only gape at the obviously deranged man looking at her with dead obsidian eyes. His voice suggested he was doing her a great kindness, but she knew better than to believe it for a second. But then again, this was probably the closest he had ever come to a selfless act; as sociopaths weren't really known for their kindness to others. Brennan couldn't hold back the snort of disbelief.

"I hope you really don't think I'm stupid enough to believe you care whether I live or die," she gritted between clenched teeth, her skin crawling just from being in the same room with this creep.

"Temperence, you wound me," he declared, theatrically placing a hand over his heart. "I have never doubted your intelligence and, of course, I would prefer that you live," he added almost convincingly until he broke into laughter. "Sorry," he apologized, "of course, you're right. I just don't want Manuel to win, but you can benefit from that, so I suggest you make the appropriate choice before I'm forced to make it for you."

"And when would that be?" she could barely unclench her teeth enough to get the question out.

"I'm going to be generous and give you 48 hours to either agree to help Hood or get your affairs in order and say your goodbyes." He slid off her desk, hands casually in his pockets as if they were chatting about the weather instead of him giving her an ultimatum that would probably result in her death with either choice. "And, Temperence, you should already know you can't hide from me and if you even try, I will kill your friends one by one…," His words were suddenly cut off as he found himself jerked backward and slammed into the wall so hard his head bounced and he saw stars. When his vision cleared, a muscular forearm was pressed against his throat so tightly he was gasping for breath. His eyes widened as he looked into murderous blue eyes knowing that this man would drop him in a second and never regret it. The only reason he would be walking out of this room alive was because Nathaniel wouldn't kill him in front of Temperence. At least, he hoped he wouldn't as the arm against his throat pressed even harder and his vision started to fade.

"Rodrigo, what rock did you crawl out from under, you slimy son of a bitch? Now, I know you weren't threatening the pretty lady when I walked in because even you can't be that stupid." The arm eased enough to allow him to draw a few gasps of air before tightening again as the deadly voice continued, "You have her to thank for every single breath you've drawn for the last two years because, trust me, she's the only thing that saved your sorry ass. You should pray every day that nothing, and I mean nothing, ever happens to her because if it does, you will be the first person I come after."

"Nathaniel, let him go," a soft voice directly beside him urged. His eyes never wavered from the man he was slowly choking the life out of. "Nathaniel, please let him go. You're better than he is." The soft voice was joined by an equally soft hand gripping his other arm, the murderous rage he felt at seeing this man anywhere near Brennan only slightly diminishing at her touch. Even knowing she was unhurt this time, he wanted this man dead for even daring to come near her again. And he wanted it badly. But she was right, if he did it this way, he would be no better than the slime that he fought against every day. Jerking his arm away from the other man's throat, he watched in satisfaction as he sank to the floor, clutching his throat, gasping and coughing. Turning toward Brennan, he kept Rodrigo in his peripheral vision.

"Hello, gorgeous," he said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you ok?" She nodded, unconsciously clutching Nathaniel's hand as she stared at the man struggling to stand with distaste.

"I'm fine. I just want him to leave," she whispered. Nathaniel nodded and turned back to Rodrigo.

"You heard the lady, Rodrigo. Get out of here." With a motion of Nathaniel's head, one of the men accompanying him stepped forward and dragged the still choking man to his feet by his lapels. Before releasing him, he glanced at Nathaniel with a raised brow. "Rodrigo, if you ever come near her again or even attempt to contact her in any way, I will, personally, drop you where you stand. Are we clear?" Rodrigo felt a shiver run down his spine at the deadly chill in that voice, knowing the soldier meant every word of it. To the utter astonishment of everyone in the room, Rodrigo broke into choked laughter.

"Oh, Temperence, this is just too funny. As much as I would love to stick around and watch you introduce your past to your present, I do have plans to make." Jerking away from the man still holding him, Rodrigo attempted to smooth his lapels, giving up after several seconds and glancing toward Brennan with a grin. "I trust you'll remember our little talk." Holding his hands up in supplication as Nathaniel growled and stepped toward him, he backed toward the door. "I'm going, Nathaniel." He grew braver as he noted Brennan was holding Nathaniel back with both hands on his arm. "Talk to you soon, Temperence." His bravery fled and he practically flew from the room as the other three soldiers stepped toward him with identical murderous looks in their eyes.

"Let him go, boys," Brennan ordered, feeling her whole body start to shake in reaction, having to lean against Nathaniel to keep from falling to the floor as her quaking legs didn't want to support her weight. Feeling her trembling, Nathaniel turned fully toward her, pulling her to his chest and rubbing his hands up and down her arms, the other three gathering around and patting her back awkwardly, murmuring soothing nonsense to calm her down.

"Hey, it's ok; I've got you, Red. He's gone." She whispered something he didn't quite catch and he innocently bent his head down even with hers so he could understand what she was saying. Unfortunately, the movement didn't look innocent to Booth as he halted in the doorway of Brennan's office in shock, taking in the tableau in front of him. His wife in another man's arms, that same man appearing to be leaning down to kiss her, three other men gathered around with their hands on his Bones. His caveman roared to life and he saw red.

"Get your damn hands off my wife!" bellowed Booth, not even noticing the absolute stillness that descended on the lab at his words. He did, however, notice the clatter as people dropped things all over the lab so they could cover their ears and protect their eardrums from Angela's shrieks.

He also noticed that at his first word, the soldier, and Booth's trained eye definitely identified all four men as soldiers, holding his Bones, pushed her protectively behind his back, spinning to face the threat in the same smooth movement. The other three instantly took up similar positions so that she was completely insulated from any threat, surrounded on all sides by trained soldiers. Someone would have to go through all four of them to get to her. That, in itself wasn't so surprising. They were, after all, soldiers trained to protect the innocent. What Booth really took notice of was the smoothness, the fluidity of the movements. They almost appeared to be choreographed. His own military training told him that the only way that could happen was if these same five people had done the same thing many, many times before. _What the hell had she been up to that he still didn't know about? _ Before he could take more than a couple of steps into the office, Angela's shrieks assaulted his eardrums yet again.

"_Your what?"_ she yelled flying off the platform and approaching him at a clip. He winced and fought the urge to cover his ears at her approach, never taking his eyes from the scene in Brennan's office. _Shit, Bones was going to kill him_, but he wasn't really worried about that right now.

"Not now, Angela," he snapped, striding into Brennan's office and closing the door behind him. Striding forward, he took a moment to study the soldier staring back at him and felt his hackles rise. This could be none other than Nathaniel Pearson. _Lovely. The other man in love with his wife just couldn't be a troll, could he? On no, I couldn't get that lucky _thought Booth, taking stock of the younger man as he knew his stock was being taken. Early thirties, 6'3", 240 lbs of solid muscle, dark hair, blue eyes, and, unfortunately, not a troll. Booth could hear Brennan demanding that someone move and let her out but his eyes remained locked with Nathaniel's and Brennan remained safely locked away.

"You must be Nathaniel," said Booth, not really meaning his tone to be as hostile as it came out.

"And you must be the suit," an equally hostile voice returned. Booth stiffened.

"That's Special Agent Seeley Booth to you, Pearson." Nathaniel stiffened crossing his arms over his chest.

"Really? And just what makes you so special, Booth?" he snapped.

"My wife," Booth snapped back, feeling more than a little satisfaction as he noticed Nathaniel's hands curl into fists. Damn, he really hadn't meant to antagonize the man, but the other man's hands had been on his wife. Although Booth now had his doubts about just what he had interrupted, he still didn't want Pearson anywhere near Brennan. Taking a deep breath, Booth rubbed his forehead gathering his thoughts.

"Ouch!" yelled one of the other soldiers, wiggling out of position. Booth looked around to see Brennan wriggle to freedom through the small space the soldiers change in position had allowed and turn loose of his side where she had obviously just pinched him. "Dammit, Red, you know I hate it when you do that," the soldier whined pulling up his shirt and trying to see the spot. "And see, you left a bruise. Why don't you ever do that to any of them?" he queried, poking at the reddened area as if it were a mortal wound.

"Oh, don't be such a big baby, Garrett. It's not even going to leave a bruise and I wouldn't have had to do it if you had moved when I asked you to, so it's really your own fault." She bent down to closely examine the reddened area and Booth had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Looking around he saw Nathaniel's lips twitching despite his best efforts to maintain a stern face.

"Are you sure it's not going to leave a bruise?"

"Yes, Garrett, I'm sure." She soothed. Booth could practically hear her eyes rolling and turned away to hide his smile.

"For God's sakes, man up, soldier, she didn't shoot you. She just pinched you." Booth glanced at the soldier who had made the scathing comment and did a double take. He looked a lot like Garrett. No, he looked _exactly_ like Garrett, Booth realized glancing between the two.

"I know she just pinched me, you moron, but it hurt like hell. Why doesn't she ever pinch any of you?" Garrett demanded of his twin, obviously insulted by his lack of sympathy for his suffering.

"She doesn't pinch the rest of us, you dweeb, because we don't dance around like little girls when she does it." His brother informed him.

"What? I do not dance around like a little girl," Garrett began hotly only to be interrupted by Brennan stepping between the two so smoothly that Booth couldn't help but think she had done it many, many times before.

"Boys," she said sharply and they both stood at attention. Booth was impressed. He couldn't see Nathaniel's face because it was hidden behind his hand and judging by the way his shoulders were shaking he was hiding laughter. Booth also had to turn away so they wouldn't see his smile. "Garrett, I'm sorry I had to pinch you, but you should move when I ask you to. Gavin, apologize to your brother. You were very rude."

"But he started it..," Gavin sputtered.

"Now, Gavin," she snapped.

"Fine. I'm sorry I was rude, Garrett," he gritted out. Garrett grinned tauntingly at his brother until Brennan turned to him with a raised brow.

"But.." he sputtered. Brennan didn't even have to say anything, she just looked at him levelly. "Fine. I'm sorry for whatever I did that you found offensive, Gavin." Brennan beamed at the two and looked around the room for Booth only to see him and Nathaniel on the other side of the room with their backs turned, shoulders shaking suspiciously. Before she could start across the room, she was spun around with a hand on her shoulder to face the remaining soldier.

"Damn, Red, you just had to go and get married before I could get up the courage to ask you myself, didn't you? I just want you to know you have broken my heart into, little tiny pieces that will never be healed." He told her soulfully. Booth's laughter immediately ceased as his hackles rose and he took a step toward Brennan, looking down at Nathaniel's hand on his arm in disbelief. Ignoring the look of outrage, Nathaniel shook his head and nodded toward the group.

"Just watch. She can handle herself." He told Booth softly. Booth reluctantly stood back as Brennan's hands went to her hips and she snorted in the other man's face.

"Oh, please, Alex, you probably don't even know the names of every woman whose bed you've been in this week. I highly doubt that my getting married had any effect whatsoever on your heart." Grinning sheepishly, Alex shrugged.

"What can I say? I love the ladies…,"

"And the ladies love you," finished the other three simultaneously, all four breaking into laughter.

"Congratulations, Beautiful. If he ever gives you any trouble, you just let us know and we'll take care of it." Alex pulled her into his arms for a tight hug. Booth was surprised that she allowed it, but was shocked when she returned the hug and then was passed to the other two for more hugs and congratulations, smiling and comfortable with this group as he'd never seen her with even her Jeffersonian family.

"They really love her, you know." Nathaniel said softly. Meeting and holding Booth's gaze, he clarified, "We all really love her. But she chose you and that's good enough for me, but if you ever hurt her…," Booth broke in before Nathaniel could finish the threat.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll hunt me down and kill me. Right?" Nathaniel studied him silently for a long moment before answering.

"No, not just me. She belongs to all of us. Hurt her and you'll face us all." Nathaniel didn't threaten. He made a simple statement of fact and Booth believed him. Nodding, he silently promised the other man he would take good care of the woman they both loved. With a sad smile, Nathaniel turned his gaze back on Brennan.

"How much do you know about her activities over the last three years?" Nathaniel questioned suddenly.

"Not a whole hell of a lot," Booth admitted.

"Then you better get up to speed, fast, because she has got some serious shit looming on the horizon. That's why we're here." Booth patiently waited, knowing Nathaniel had more to say. "Red made a serious enemy a few years ago, an enemy whose power and influence has grown recently who would give just about anything to get his hands on her. She hasn't been out of the country for the last three years without at least one of us by her side, usually the whole team but it all depended on where she was going and why and he's made three attempts to get to her in the last two years." Nathaniel saw by Booth's expression that this was all news to him and couldn't help but wonder if he really knew Brennan at all, but maybe that was just his own broken heart talking and this wasn't about him, it was about the woman whom every man in the room would gladly give his life to keep safe. "The one thing we've never had to worry about was him trying to snatch her on American soil, but from what we interrupted when we arrived, I'm afraid that reprieve is now over."

"Booth, why does Angela have her face pressed against the door like that?" Brennan walked up to the two men and leaned into Booth's side, his arm automatically sliding around her waist. Glancing around, he saw that Angela did, indeed, have her face pressed so tightly against the glass door that her nose appeared decidedly porcine and he had to laugh at the sight.

"Um, well, Bones, she might have overheard what I said to Nathaniel." Nathaniel smothered a laugh and walked back to his team, giving the pair some privacy. Personally, he would be surprised if the whole building hadn't heard Booth's bellows. Brennan's brows rose in question.

"About us being married, you mean?" Although that was all she recalled Booth yelling about, she had been very upset at the time and she needed clarification.

"Yeah," he replied sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Baby. I know that wasn't the best way to tell her but it threw me to see all those guys with their hands on you." She nodded her understanding and she truly did understand. She imagined she would have a similar reaction to walking in and finding four attractive women touching Booth. Actually, she imagined there would be some ass kicking involved if that ever happened. "You really should go talk to her, Baby," he urged.

"What? Why do I have to talk to her, Booth? You're the one who put us out, so I think you should talk to her." Booth had to laugh. She sounded almost panicked at the thought of facing her best friend.

"I outed us, Bones, not put us out, and you need to talk to her because she's your best friend. Baby, she's bound to be upset and she'll have a million questions that only you can answer." He tilted her face toward him with a knuckle under her chin. "Hey, what's wrong?" Finally meeting his eyes, Booth saw genuine fear in hers.

"What if she doesn't forgive me?" Booth noticed that she didn't place any blame on him.

"It's us, Baby. We're in this together. And of course, she'll forgive you. That's what best friends and family does. They forgive each other." By this time, his head had drifted down and their foreheads were resting against each other.

The four men across the room watched the exchange almost guiltily with very mixed emotions. Nathaniel felt as though each touch, each tender word sent a dagger through his heart, but he could easily see how much they cared about each other and her safety and happiness were really all that mattered and if this man could make her happy, that was good enough for him. Hell, as much as he had been prepared to hate the guy, he kind of liked him. The other three soldiers loved Brennan just as fiercely as Nathaniel, just not in the same way. She had saved each and every one of their lives more than once and they would always be looking out for her whether she liked it or not. They had also been fully prepared to hate the interloper in their midst, but he seemed like an okay guy. They were just going to make him prove his ability to keep Brennan safe before they took it as gospel. Unfortunately, they were fast approaching a trial by fire and it would be a miracle if no one was burned to cinders.


	7. Chapter 7

**My latest offering. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for all the reviews and please keep it up.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine and probably glad of it right now.**

Biting her lip in indecision, Brennan looked from Booth to Angela, who still had her face pressed to the door. She really needed to tell Booth what had happened today, but the look of pleading on her best friends face was getting to her and as much as she wasn't looking forward to listening to Angela's tirade, she owed her the courtesy of explaining how they had gotten married and why they had kept it from their friends. With a resigned sigh, she made up her mind. Booth hid his grin, he had known all along that she would go talk to Angela, that was just the kind of person she was.

"Booth, I'll go talk to Angela, but I need to talk to Nathaniel alone, first." She saw and felt Booth stiffen and took his hand in hers, squeezing it reassuringly. "Please just trust me, Booth," she pleaded. _When she put it like that, what choice did he really have? _ And he did trust her, implicitly. Cupping her face in his hands, he dropped a light kiss on her lips.

"Of course, I trust you, Baby. Now go talk to Nathaniel and take care of Angela, she's really beginning to creep me out." Brennan giggled and hugged him tightly.

"I love you, Booth," she whispered in his ear. His head jerked back a little, surprised and a little suspicious of her telling him that right now and he was immediately ashamed of the thought.

"I love you too, Bones," he answered just as softly, turning her toward the door and giving her a little push in that direction, earning a glare for his trouble.

"Nathaniel, I need to talk to you." He was immediately on his feet and heading in her direction, following her out the door. She shooed Angela away with the promise to come directly to her office and pulled Nathaniel to the side where they had at least a semblance of privacy, making sure to remain in full view of the people in her office and Booth knew she was doing that for him and, once again, felt shame. He had to let her know he trusted her, regardless of the circumstances and he did, he had just been too busy acting like a jealous jackass to let her know before.

Booth and the other four watched with interest as Brennan spoke rapidly with Nathaniel nodding his head periodically. She stepped a little closer to the other man and Booth saw Nathaniel look into the office, directly at him, then turn back to Brennan and shake his head vehemently. Booth intimately knew the stubborn look that came over Brennan's face. After all, he saw it often enough. She was determined to talk Nathaniel into something that he thought was a bad idea.

"Uh oh," whispered one of the twins. Booth looked around to see the others eyes also glued to the couple on the other side of the window.

"What?" Booth demanded.

"She's trying to talk him into something he's not happy about." Alex answered easily. Booth knew that, but how did these three guys know his Bones so well? Booth almost grinned as Nathaniel ran a hand through his military haircut, then nodded grudgingly and Brennan grinned happily, patting his arm. She obviously had Nathaniel wrapped just as tightly around her little finger as she did Booth himself and he was surprisingly ok with that. Looking at the interaction of the two without the red haze of jealousy clouding his vision, he saw that Brennan cared about Nathaniel but there was nothing sexual in her actions and he wasn't even sure if he wanted to know if they had ever been intimately involved anymore. It just didn't matter now. She was his wife and that said it all, as far as he was concerned.

He saw Brennan head toward Angela's office and Nathaniel reentered Brennan's, firmly closing the door behind him, seating himself and turning a speculative look on Booth.

"Would you rather ask questions or do you want us to just start talking?" he asked Booth.

"About what?" Booth asked suspiciously.

"About what she's been up to over the last several years." Booth noted the raised eyebrows of the other three.

"Everything?" questioned Alex incredulously. Nathaniel shook his head.

"I'll let you know what's off limits." Booth leaned forward and looked at the younger man menacingly.

"She's my wife. As far as I'm concerned, nothing is off limits. I need to know everything." To Booth's surprise, Nathaniel nodded his agreement.

"I agree, but some things you're going to have to hear from her or not at all." Booth actually agreed that some questions could only be answered by Brennan. Relaxing back into his chair, he looked at Nathaniel levelly.

"Start talking." Nathaniel gathered his thoughts and then grinned at Booth.

"Did she tell you how we first met?" Booth nodded.

"That she pulled your ass out of the fire? Yeah, she told me." Nathaniel nodded with a reminiscent grin.

"That's not how we met." Threw in one of the twins. Before Booth could even ask, Nathaniel shot the two grinning men a quelling look.

"She said no." They both looked bummed that they didn't get to tell the story of how they had met Brennan and this, of course, gave Booth a burning desire to know just exactly what she didn't want him to. He made a mental note to get the story out of her one way or another. His thoughts were pulled back to Nathaniel as the younger man began to speak in a calm, clear voice.

"The leader of the guerillas who captured my team is Manuel Perez. He's a real piece of scum, a psychotic sociopath who would kill his own mother if it suited his purposes. Unfortunately, he does have charisma and had been able to find a group of men just as dishonorable and bloodthirsty as he was and convince them to follow him. But they were a very poor group and weren't satisfied with raping and torturing villagers for fun for very long and they began to kidnap anyone who would bring them a decent ransom, working their way up to an Ambassador's daughter. Until then, they had simply been one of numerous pesky groups operating in that part of the country. Yes, they needed to be stopped but they weren't our problem, but when they kidnapped an American Citizen, a pregnant woman who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, they became our problem." Nathaniel's voice had lost its calm edge and his seething anger was clearly coming through, his jaw clenched tightly. Booth knew, from his own military experience, that whatever was coming was bad and patiently waited for the man to continue. Leaning forward and catching Nathaniel's eye, Alex received a barely perceptible nod and took over, giving his friend time to regain control.

"We were sent in covertly, solely to rescue the woman, with strict orders to only take out Perez as a last resort." Booth reared back in shock, unable to believe they had been given such ridiculous orders. He saw Alex and Nathaniel thought they were equally ridiculous, but they had been orders.

"For God's sake, why didn't they just let you take out the threat?" Nathaniel and Alex shared a grim look.

"At the time, we were told the political situation in the area was too unstable and taking out Perez would further destabilize it into open warfare, putting thousands of lives at risk. Too late, we learned that Perez had found himself a little friend pretty high up in the government and was being shielded by the bastard. The same bastard who was our liaison, so, as you already know, the rescue didn't exactly go as planned. We were fed faulty information and led straight into an ambush." Alex leaned back and Booth knew from the look on his face that he was remembering exactly what had happened on that day.

"I lost a man before we were captured," Nathaniel said softly, the pain of the loss echoing in his words. "He was a good man." Alex nodded his agreement, pain at losing a friend apparent on his face and Booth felt his heart go out to these men. He knew, intimately, the special relationship you developed with the people you trusted with your life every day and the loss of one of them was devastating. He couldn't imagine the guilt and rage it must have generated in these soldiers to know the loss was because they had been betrayed by someone they trusted.

"I'm sorry." Booth said simply. Nathaniel shot him a grim smile.

"Yeah, me too. Having a Special Forces team as captives was a real feather in Perez's cap. Usually, we would have been quietly ransomed back to our government, but this sick son of a bitch had no intention of letting us go. We were much more valuable to him in captivity, a status symbol of sorts. He had no intention of killing us anytime soon either, but he made sure we wished we were dead." Nathaniel sprung from the couch and walked over to gaze unseeingly out over the office floor, arms folded over his chest, his body rigid with the memories. Booth knew he was being told the captives had been tortured and he could certainly relate to that, feeling a surprising sense of fellowship toward the other soldiers.

"He began to get impatient after a week when we wouldn't tell him anything so he decided to make an example of me, thinking it would get the others to talk." Nathaniel didn't even glance around at Alex's snort, but Booth saw the look on the other man's face and knew he would have died before telling his torturers anything. Hell, that's what soldiers did.

"After three days without food or water and almost continuous beatings, I really thought I was done for, especially when one of the guerillas burst into my cell and held a gun to my head. I heard a shot and wondered why I wasn't dead then I looked up and saw a beautiful angel leaning over me asking if I was ok." Booth could see Nathaniel's reflection in the glass wall of the office and didn't much like the soft smile on his face or the tone of his voice, but he didn't think the other man was trying to rile him, he wasn't even aware of how much of his feelings the words revealed to the FBI agent. "We all got to the vehicles Red and the two CIA agents had brought to the village and got the hell out of there, but ran into a little trouble with more of the guerilla group. We took a lot of fire and had to fight our way through. Alex and I both took bullets and I told Red to leave us and get the woman out but she wouldn't go."

_Well, duh_, thought Booth, knowing his Bones would never abandon anyone to certain death even if it meant putting her own life on the line.

"She sent one of the CIA agents on with the woman while we provided cover and then she told us to grow a set, get off our asses and help her get us out of there and somehow we did." Booth could easily hear the admiration and laughter in Nathaniel's voice and had to fight back the jealousy.

"God, she was magnificent." Booth just gaped at the sincerity in Alex's voice and the other man grinned back at him unrepentantly. _What the hell? Were they all in love with his wife?,_ Booth wondered with no little amount of disgust. He knew she was magnificent but he found himself not liking that he wasn't the only one with that knowledge.

"She became one of us that day. She even earned her unit tattoo saving my life," Alex told a stunned Booth, holding his eyes levelly. Booth tried to contain his wrath at what he thought the soldier was telling him, but just couldn't hold it back.

"_What?"_ he roared, coming out of his chair to lean over Alex menacingly? _"Are you trying to tell me that she became a part of your freaking Special Forces unit?"_

"Not officially, Booth, so calm down," Nathaniel said quietly from behind him. Alex just continued to hold his gaze, wondering if he could take the older man if it came down to it. Not that he would even try because Red would kill him on the spot and he wasn't about to risk her wrath. Booth slowly straightened and turned his furious gaze on Nathaniel.

"What do you mean, not officially?" he demanded. Nathaniel's eyes dropped and Booth knew he wasn't going to like what was coming.

"Perez was rather put out that a woman, an American woman at that, had managed to take his prizes away from him and let it be known that she was in danger from him, so we made ourselves responsible for her safety."

"What, exactly, does that mean?" Booth gritted between clenched teeth. Nathaniel shrugged.

"At first, it was just that she couldn't leave the country without us," Nathaniel paused at Booth's snort of laughter.

"I'll just bet she loved that," Nathaniel and Alex both laughed at Booth's sarcastic words and the memory of the furious tongue lashings they had received from the good doctor the first couple of times they had insisted on accompanying her on one of her digs. They had simply let the angst roll off their backs and stuck to her like leeches. She had finally given up and put them to work, all the while assuring them she could take care of herself.

"Yeah, she was thrilled," Alex's sarcasm was unmistakable and Booth glared at him before turning his attention back to Nathaniel.

"About six months in we were contacted about a mission in the same area as her dig concerning these two bozos," Nathaniel jerked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating the twins. "We already knew Perez had men in the area so we couldn't just leave her at the site and she refused to let us put her on a plane home, so we took her with us," Nathaniel backed up a couple of steps and held his hands up in supplication at the fury blooming on Booth's face and his clenched fists.

"You did _what_?" he yelled.

"We put her somewhere safe and told her to stay there," Nathaniel said in his own defense. Booth rubbed a hand tiredly over his eyes, needing to hear the rest of this but so not wanting to know.

"What did she do?" he asked quietly.

"She sure as hell didn't stay put," Alex commented in disgust. "Does she ever do what you tell her? Because, I have to tell you, I have never met a more stubborn, contrary woman in my life." He and Booth shared a commiserating look until one of the twins interrupted.

"Hey," objected Gavin, "lay off Red. She saved our lives that day."

"Yeah," agreed his twin with a grin, "she may be stubborn and contrary but she has more guts than anyone I know. But I thought she didn't want us to tell him about that day." Garret directed this comment at an uncomfortable looking Nathaniel, who turned to Booth with a sigh.

"Sorry, man, but that's one of the things she'll have to fill you in on." Nathaniel hurried into speech hoping to divert the angst he could just see Booth itching to release. Not that he was afraid of the other man's anger, there was just much worse to come. "Our superiors suddenly decided that Red was a very valuable asset and we began to get calls anytime we were with her and even a few missions that required her assistance when we weren't." Booth grabbed Nathaniel by his t-shirt and jerked him close until they were nose to nose before he could stop himself.

"You _used_ her?" Booth hissed in a deadly voice.

"No," Nathaniel answered him levelly while three other voices shouted the denial from behind him, but Booth's attention never wavered from Nathaniel who motioned to his comrades to back off because they had all jumped to their feet ready to come to his defense if necessary. "No, Booth, we protected her. We care about her too much to ever use her, but our superiors contacted her directly and she made it clear she was doing what was asked of her, so we watched her back and kept her safe." Booth's jaw clenched and unclenched as he searched Nathaniel's face, he saw only truth there and finally released the younger man.

Nathaniel could understand the reaction, he had been more than a little pissed at the actions of his superiors, but the only option they had really had was refusing the mission which would have been career suicide and someone else would have been watching Red's back and that was unacceptable. Turning away, he began to pace, running a hand through his hair.

"Believe me, we tried everything we could think of, short of physically incapacitating her, to talk her out of those missions, but she is an adrenalin junkie and couldn't be swayed." Booth nodded. Brennan was, indeed, an adrenalin junkie and he could just imagine her thrilled excitement at going on a secret mission. Hell, he doubted even he could have talked her out of it. Not that he was any happier that she had done it, he just understood the position Nathaniel and his brothers in arms had been in.

"Perez had been sniffing around during this whole time but only made one very sloppy attempt to grab her, which we took care of without her ever knowing. She knew that Perez was angry and had sworn revenge but she never knew about the attempt to snatch her. We didn't want her to worry," Nathaniel said softly, his voice ripe with self loathing. "And that stupid mistake almost got her killed."

"What happened?" demanded Booth, forcing the words past the lump of dread in his throat. This had to be about what happened two years ago that was so bad Brennan wouldn't even speak of it. _Whatever it was_, Booth told himself, _he would help her work through it_. Steeling himself, he listened intently as Nathaniel started to speak.

"Two years ago, we were on an extended assignment, and Red had promised she wouldn't leave the country without us so we weren't worried about her safety. Unbeknownst to us, Perez had decided to make a move up the food chain and felt getting his hands on Red would bolster his position. Perez's contact had his own contacts in our very own CIA, and they very quietly arranged for Red make a quick trip to identify some remains for them. And thanks to my stupidity in not telling her about the kidnapping attempt, she wasn't afraid of Perez. She went back to Nicaragua without us." Seeing the questions brimming in Booth's eyes, Nathaniel held up a stalling hand. "Please just let me get through this and then I'll answer any questions you have." Booth nodded and Nathaniel took a deep breath before he continued. "They sent twelve damn good soldiers with her for protection and she would have been fine if we had just known the name of Perez's government contact, but we didn't. The bastard gave Perez GPS coordinates of their location and the convoy she was in was attacked. Six good men were killed outright, but Red and the other six got away. The CIA managed to keep it so quiet that we didn't even get the news until two days after the attack. Needless to say, we were on the next plane to Nicaragua. Intel was sketchy, but we gathered what information we could and headed out to find her. The man in charge of the rescue efforts on the Nicaraguan side's name was Juan Rodrigo, and it took us less than six hours in the jungle to figure out he was blowing smoke up our ass with the bullshit he was feeding us. That's when everything fell into place and we realized he was responsible for our first mission failing, but all that mattered at that point was finding Red as quickly as possible, we could always take care of Rodrigo later." Nathaniel stopped speaking and strode back over to stare sightlessly out toward the center platform and Booth thought he was finished until his anguished voice came out so softly that Booth had to strain to hear the words.

"Six days, she was lost and on the run in the jungle for six days before we found her. At least that's what we thought until we finally found her." Booth waited for Nathaniel to continue but realized the younger man couldn't go on and the hair on the back of Booth's neck stood at attention because it had to be pretty damn bad for a seasoned soldier not to be able to get the words out.

"What? What could possibly be worse than being lost in the jungle for six days with a crazy man who wants you dead chasing you?" he demanded, almost in a panic, praying he was wrong about the answer to his question.

"Perez found her three days before we did," Alex said quietly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Please let me know if you all would prefer longer chapters than the last two. Thanks to all my reviewers and please keep it up. A happy Musie writes more than an unhappy one.**

**Disclaimer: They're not mine.**

Brennan peered quizzically into Angela's dark office, finally spotting her friend sitting on her settee staring blankly into space. Nervously stepping into the office she reached for the light switch.

"Don't," snapped Angela just as Brennan's hand touched the switch. Slowly withdrawing her hand, Brennan took a deep breath and made her way over to her friend. She might not be great at reading people but a pissed off Angela she could easily identify and she was royally ticked. Brennan couldn't imagine this was going to be a pleasant conversation but it had to be done. Sinking down beside her furious friend, she reached out and took Angela's hand, a little encouraged when she didn't jerk away.

"Ange, why are you sitting in the dark?" she asked softly.

"Because, apparently, that's where I belong, Brennan." _Ouch_, Brennan knew a metaphor when she heard one and the cold, decisive bite in Angela's voice as well as the use of her full name told her she wasn't going to be easily forgiven for this one.

"Ange, I know you're mad, but…," Brennan was cut off by Angela snatching back her hand and turning on her. She had no trouble seeing the glare on her friend's face even in the dark.

"I'm not mad," Brennan couldn't hold back the snort of disbelief at this very patent untruth, and Angela had to fight hard to keep her lips from twitching. "Well, yeah, I am mad," she admitted, "but I'm more hurt. You got married, Bren and didn't even bother to tell us. How could you do that, Bren? I thought I was your best friend. I thought we were family," she finished dejectedly, shoulders slumping.

"Ange, we are family and you are my best friend." She answered the charges earnestly. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but things were a more than a little crazy when we got back from Vegas and Booth and I overheard you saying we would never get married without our family there and we just didn't know how to tell you then." Angela saw the pleading look on her best friend's face and gave it up. She couldn't stay mad at her when there were all kinds of juicy details to ferret out. Turning to Brennan, she grinned broadly.

"Please tell me you didn't go through one of those tacky drive thru chapels."

"They have drive thru chapels?" questioned Brennan. Angela patted her hand, her question satisfactorily answered. "Bren, why didn't you at least tell me you were engaged?" Brennan winced at the residual hurt in Angela's voice.

"We weren't engaged until after we got to Las Vegas, Ange and it wasn't really news I wanted to share over the phone." _Ok, she could forgive her for that one._

"So, tell me everything. When did he ask you? What did he say? What did you say? Why did you get married so quickly?" Her eyes rounded at the last question and her hand flew to cover her mouth. "Oh my God, you're pregnant," she gasped.

"What? No, Angela, I'm not pregnant," she assured her friend in a slightly offended voice. Angela frowned trying to figure out what exactly had offended Brennan when it hit her and her eyes widened.

"Bren, Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I never meant to imply that Booth asked you to marry him because you were pregnant. It's obvious to a blind person that man loves you to pieces and would take you any way he could get you." Angela was the one to reach out and grasp Brennan's hand this time.

"I know he loves me, Ange. I love him, too and that's why we got married." She said simply and Angela felt tears sting her eyes. Brennan had a way of breaking things down to their most basic level that surprised the hell out of Angela every time she did it. "I'm really sorry we didn't tell you, Ange." She added softly. Angela patted her hand forgivingly.

"I wish I could have seen it," she said longingly. Brennan grinned.

"You can. I have photographs and a video." She winced and covered her ears at Angela's squeals of excitement.

"Ange, please calm down. I don't have them here, but I will bring them in tomorrow," she promised at Angela's crestfallen expression.

"Ok, but you so owe me details."

"Fine, but can we do this tomorrow, please? I'm really tired and I still have to talk to Booth and Nathaniel before we can go home." Angela started to argue, but the obvious weariness on Brennan's face convinced her to let her friend win this one.

"Where is Mr. Temperence Brennan?" Angela asked giggling at her own cleverness.

"Ange, I don't think he would like for you to call him that. And he's in my office with Nathaniel and the boys." Brennan stifled a yawn and then noticed Angela was looking at her like she had lost her mind. "What?"

"Bren, do you really think it's a good idea for the two of them to be in the same room?" Brennan had no idea what was going on in Angela's mind and was too tired to try to guess.

"Who, Ange?"

"Your brand spanking new husband and your old lover, Bren, that's who." Now Brennan was looking at Angela as if she had lost her mind.

"What? Who are you talking about, Ange?"

"Booth and Nathaniel, Bren," Angela said with exaggerated patience, startled when Brennan burst into laughter.

"Angela, Nathaniel and I were never lovers." Angela looked at her friend disbelievingly, but knew Brennan wouldn't lie to her about anything, especially this.

"So you never spent any time in the sack with the guy who has proposed to you God only knows how many times?" Angela was having more than a little trouble getting her head around this one.

"Fifty-one," Brennan mumbled around a yawn. "He proposed to me fifty-one times and no, I never slept with him." Angela was completely baffled by the woman in front of her. A gorgeous hunk of manhood had proposed to her _fifty-one freaking times_ and she hadn't even had sex with him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, woman? That is one fine specimen of manhood, in case you hadn't noticed. I can't believe you've known him for years and never jumped him."

"He is very attractive," Brennan said softly, "and I can't say I wasn't tempted. I certainly thought about it, especially when Booth was with Cam. I don't know what would have happened if Sully hadn't come along when he did but I cared too much about Nathaniel to use him just to satisfy my biological urges." Angela was stunned at Brennan's frankness. Oh, not about the sex, but about the feelings. She had never known her friend to be this open with her feelings.

"Does Booth know you didn't sleep with Nathaniel?

"I don't know but he never asked."

"Trust me, Bren, I saw the man's face when he overheard Nathaniel's proposal and he thinks you two were lovers. You should set him straight."

"Why? We've both had relationships with other people. Why should it matter if Nathaniel is one of those people?" Sometimes, Angela wondered how Brennan could be so smart and so dumb at the same time. With a sigh, she settled in.

"Bren, your husband overheard someone he thinks you had a past sexual relationship with propose to you yesterday and now that person is here, all up in his face. It matters, Sweetie. Just go with me on this, Bren," Angela insisted when she saw Brennan open her mouth to argue.

"Fine, I'll tell him." Brennan conceded, stifling another yawn and fighting the urge to close her eyes for just a minute.

"You might want to keep the stuff about how attractive you find Nathaniel to yourself," Angela advised with a grin. She was quite certain Booth wouldn't like hearing that. Glancing over at Brennan's lack of response, Angela saw that her eyes were closed and she was leaning to the side. Easing her friend down of the settee and covering her with a light quilt she kept in the office for just such purposes, Angela gathered her things and slipped quietly out of her office. She walked to Brennan's office and rapped smartly on the door, sticking her head in without waiting for permission, her eyes widening at the tension permeating the room. She barely repressed a shiver as five pairs of eyes focused on her. _Damn, they were all gorgeous and if she wasn't with Hodgins she would definitely be getting to know one or more of them a whole lot better._ She was with someone, not dead, so she gave them a highly flirtatious smile.

"What is it, Ange?" questioned Booth a bit sharply. Angela frowned at his tone but answered him anyway.

"Bren's asleep in my office when you get ready to go, Booth." Angela noted the soft smiles that drifted over all five faces at her words and would have loved to be a fly on the wall to hear what these five men were discussing. She was willing to bet it was the one thing they all had in common. Dr. Temperence Brennan or was it Dr. Temperence Brennan Booth now? She would be sure and ask tomorrow.

"Ok, Ange. Thanks." Booth offered her a genuine smile which she returned and then included the other four men.

"Ok, then, I'm headed home. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She closed the door on the chorus of goodbyes and reluctantly left the eye candy to get on with their night. She had her very own eye candy at home and, boy, was Hodgie in for a workout tonight.

"Is she seeing anybody?" Alex asked playfully, breaking the oppressive silence that had descended on the room when Angela closed the door. They had just dumped some heavy shit right in the FBI man's lap and Alex was actually impressed that he wasn't throwing punches or ranting and raving at all of them but he had a sneaking suspicion that the guy really wanted to do both.

"Yes, she's seeing someone," Booth snapped just as Nathaniel gave him a quelling look. Alex raised his hands in surrender.

"You can't blame a guy for looking. She's very pretty and I'm selective." Snorts from the other three soldiers made Booth highly doubt Alex's statement but he could easily see the other man was trying to give him a little time to pull himself together with this distraction. He was actually grateful and threw Alex a smile that said so. Alex just nodded.

"How bad was it?" Booth asked softly, actually afraid to loosen the tight reign he had on himself enough to even raise his voice. None of the men pretended to misunderstand the question.

"Bad," answered Gavin and Garrett in unison. Looking around the room, Booth saw all four men had their hands clenched into fists, absolute fury radiating from their faces.

"How bad?" Booth gritted out, barely able to force the words through his clenched teeth, but Nathaniel shook his head before anyone could answer him.

"I'm sorry, Booth, but I promised. You'll have to get details from her." Booth jumped to his feet, pacing the office in agitation, badly wanting to hit something or someone_. Hell, who was he kidding?_ He wanted to beat the crap out of something or someone. God only knew what some sick bastard had put her through for three damned days. His gut twisted at the possibilities, the fear and anger roiling through him almost overwhelming. He stopped his pacing when Nathaniel stepped into his path and met his gaze squarely.

"Take a shot if it will make you feel better," he offered, pointing at his chin, "God knows, I deserve it after the way we let her down." Booth actually considered the offer, until Nathaniel finished the sentence. _Well, hell, he just had to go and ruin the opportunity to release a little of the aggression he felt toward the younger man,_ Booth thought. He couldn't hit him now without feeling bad about it. It was beyond obvious that all four men were eaten up with guilt over what had happened. Stuffing his hands deeply into his pockets just in case, Booth resumed his pacing.

"What can you tell me?" Nathaniel ignored Booth's heavily sarcastic tone and took the question at face value.

"Since the day we raided Perez's compound, Red's services have been strictly those of a forensic anthropologist. She refuses to work with the CIA or the State Department but does occasionally do jobs for other branches of the government. She never leaves our sight when she's out of the country." Nathaniel wasn't quite sure why Booth's jaw tightened angrily over that statement. He was only trying to reassure him they were more diligent than ever in Brennan's protection.

Booth assumed that Nathaniel kept an eye on Brennan during the nights and didn't like that picture at all, jealousy roaring to the forefront of the emotional tangle seething inside him. Tamping his temper down with some difficulty, he decided he really was going to have to have Brennan's relationship with Nathaniel clearly defined by the woman in question or he might just wind up taking a swing at the guy for nothing. Booth turned away from the temptation and Nathaniel looked almost disappointed. Booth, who was familiar with the feeling of needing to be punished for past mistakes, almost felt sorry for the guy.

"Perez has recently taken over one of the smaller drug cartels and he is coming into some real power. Our government has finally decided they need to do something about him, but he is almost impossible to get to." Booth glanced at the quieter twin; this was the most he'd said all day.

"What do they want Bones for?" Booth was afraid he knew, but he needed confirmation before he blew his cool.

"Bait," spat Alex in disgust. The other three nodded in agreement. _ Damn, just as he had suspected_, thought Booth. He wasn't really surprised but he was definitely pissed and determined that was not going to happen.

"Red is Perez's big embarrassment," Nathaniel explained. "She took us right out of the palm of his hand and then escaped his revenge. His competition won't let him forget that. He'll never get the respect he thinks he deserves as long as she's alive. At least, that's the way he sees things."

"So why doesn't he just send someone to kill her?" asked Booth, trying to figure out motivations which could be difficult with no real knowledge of the players.

"Because he doesn't want her dead," answered Garrett, "he wants to kill her." Booth got the distinction. The bastard didn't just want her dead, he wanted to use her as an example of what happened to people who crossed him, to make her suffer untold horrors then kill her himself. _Well, that was never going to happen because she wasn't going near the freak_, Booth reassured himself.

"Dad told me about General Hoods visit. They must be getting pretty desperate to throw him at her," said Nathaniel with a grin. "She really likes the old guy," he supplied at Booth's questioning look, "and I'm surprised he would have anything to do with something that stinks this badly but I guess orders are orders even for him." The five men shared a look of solidarity. Mostly they were fine with what they did to protect their country but every once in a while something came up that would turn the stomachs of even the strongest men.

"So they want to use Bones to lure this Perez out in the open where they can take him out?" Booth recapped.

"That would be my guess," agreed Nathaniel. Booth actually felt relief. That was easy then, all he had to do was keep her here and the bad guys couldn't touch her, but something Nathaniel had said earlier was niggling at the back of his mind.

"What did you mean when you said she might not be safe here anymore?" Booth demanded as the words became clear.

"Rodrigo was here this afternoon," Nathaniel sighed, leaning forward and rubbing his tired eyes with the heels of his hands.

"Here as in here in Washington?" Booth really, really hoped that was it, but greatly feared it was not.

"Here in this office. With Red. Threatening her, actually." Garrett informed him.

"And you let him walk out of here?" Garrett shivered at the deadly menace in the voice and eyes that turned in his direction.

"We can't officially touch him, Booth. He not only has diplomatic immunity, but he's also an official undercover operative for the CIA." Nathaniel said tiredly.

"We should have just taken him out two years ago," Gavin added his two cents and Booth fully agreed.

"Why didn't you?"

"Red made us promise. She said if we hunted him down and killed him in cold blood then we would be no better than him and Perez." Alex gave Booth his answer with a soft smile. "It's hard to say no to that woman when she really wants something," he informed Booth as if he didn't already know that.

Booth was struck anew at how amazing his wife was. She could have easily let her band of protectors hunt down the bastard who had willingly turned her over to suffer God only knew what atrocities, but she had refused to let two lowlifes or the experience break her spirit. She retained that inner core of strength, that belief in right and wrong and the consequences to her personally didn't sway her from her course. He had never been prouder of her or more afraid for her.

"What did Rodrigo threaten her with?" asked Booth.

"He said that I had 48 hours to either agree to help General Hood or he would personally deliver me to Perez and if I tried to run or hide he would kill my friends one by one." Brennan answered calmly from the open office door. All five men swung around, so intent on their conversation, they hadn't heard her enter.

"I hope you told him to go to hell," Booth told her firmly, rising from his chair and meeting her halfway across the office. He needed to touch her, he realized, to assure himself she was really here and safe. Reaching out, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling into her sleepy eyes.

"I didn't tell him anything. Nathaniel was choking him against the wall and I just wanted him to leave," she responded with a shudder. Booth pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"He'll never get near you again, Baby," he vowed. Neither noticed but four other heads nodded in agreement with his statement. Brennan leaned tiredly against him for several seconds, returning the hug, then stiffened her spine and stepped back.

"Booth, he was responsible for the explosion in the lab," she suddenly remembered to tell him.

"How would blowing up the lab benefit him?" Booth asked in confusion, leading Brennan to the chair he had just vacated and urging her to sit. Pulling her desk chair over he sat beside her, patiently waiting for her response.

"He wanted our partnership to be officially severed. He wants me to agree to help General Hood and he thought you would influence me to turn them down." _So, the guy wasn't completely stupid_, thought Booth. _There was no way in hell he would allow her to agree to be bait for the any military operation, especially one where the target wanted her dead in the worst way._

"Well, he was right about that," agreed Booth. Brennan chewed on her lower lip and looked Booth directly in the eyes.

"I think I should agree to help General Hood," she said calmly as chaos erupted around her.


	9. Chapter 9

**I hope this is something along the lines of what you guys had in mind. Remember the deal here, I give you a chapter and you give me reviews. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan sat quietly, so lost in her own thoughts, she barely heard the five men shouting their outrage and denial of her suggestion. She had jerked awake from a light sleep in Angela's office, heart pounding, the taste of fear so strong in her throat that it almost choked her, shudders wracking her body. It had taken her but seconds to recognize that she was safe in Angela's office, but it had taken considerably longer to bring her heart rate and breathing under control. For that one split second between sleep and wakefulness, she had remembered everything from those horrifying days, every sight, every sound, every emotion and she had known suddenly and very, very clearly what she had to do.

She looked around the room at the five men. She loved every single one of them. Not in the romantic sense, of course, but she loved them all the same and she knew without a doubt that she could not, would not, watch another person she cared about die because of her. She knew they would fight her, but this was one battle she was determined to win. She couldn't bring back the fallen friends and comrades who had already died to protect her from this monster, but she could damn well make sure it didn't happen again. So she simply sat patiently until they stopped shouting and reclaimed their seats. Then she turned to her husband.

She loved this man more than she had thought it possible to love anyone and she so didn't want to cause him pain, but knew that her suggestion was the only chance they had at a future together. Rodrigo _would _get to her and when he did, she was as good as dead. She was completely unwilling for anyone else to risk their lives to buy her a little time. If she had to die she would do it with courage, not hiding in a corner somewhere, whimpering in fear. She would not let the monsters that spit on everything good and clean in this world, everything that she believed in wholeheartedly, win.

She currently retained enough control to try logic and decided that was her best course of action because she might actually be able to convince them with a logical argument. _Yeah, right, in an alternate reality maybe_. Her seething emotions were so close to the surface, she knew she wouldn't be able to hold onto her control for long, so she took a deep breath and took a shot.

"Booth," she began softly, reaching out and taking his hand, "these are very bad men. They hurt a lot of people and they enjoy it." Her disgust was very clear in her voice. "If I can help stop them, I need to do that." She didn't even realize that her eyes pleaded with him to understand. She did realize she was getting nowhere with logic, even before he spoke.

"No, Bones," he said sharply, desperately trying to control the panic fighting to the surface at her announced intentions. He knew how strongly she believed in things and he honestly loved that about her but not enough to be ok with her putting herself in this kind of danger for any reason. "No," he said more softly, gripping her hand almost painfully and rubbing his thumb absently over the back of it. "These men are killers," he grimaced as soon as the words left his mouth, knowing it was the wrong thing to say.

"I know, Booth, and that's why I need to help stop them." He stubbornly shook his head. Brennan quickly glanced at the other four and saw she would be getting no help from that quarter. They were just as opposed to this as Booth was.

"Let Hood and his people come up with something else. They are NOT using you for bait to get to a crazy man."

"Booth, I don't believe General Hood would have approached me unless all other avenues had been thoroughly explored and discarded as unlikely to succeed. And the only real chance we have for this to be over is to go after Perez. With Rodrigo, it's not personal, he couldn't possibly care less about whether I live or die. The only reason he even approached me is because he and Perez had some kind of disagreement." He wasn't even tempted to give in by the earnestness in her voice.

"No," he replied flatly. Brennan rubbed her eyes. God, she was tired, bone deep weary and wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl into bed and snuggle with her husband. That was, unfortunately, not an option at the moment. She could actually feel her control slipping away, inch by slippery inch, her volatile emotions bubbling closer and closer to the surface. Desperately, she clamped down on the fear and rage fighting to be released, her mind frantically searching for the perfect argument.

"Booth, you were a soldier. You know that people sometimes have to do something for the greater good. It would definitely be for everyone's greater good to eliminate this awful man." Even she could hear the desperate, pleading note in her voice.

"You're not a soldier, Brennan. You're a forensic anthropologist and my wife. You had no business getting mixed up in any of this in the first place, but most especially now. My answer is no and it's not going to change." He knew his voice was a little harsh, but couldn't help it. She was asking him to support her getting herself killed and he just couldn't do that, no matter how much better off the world would be without this man in it. Logic obviously wasn't going to work, she finally saw. Time to move on.

"Booth, he said if I didn't help General Hood, he would deliver me to Perez himself." Unable to sit still while speaking of that awful man, Brennan jumped to her feet and began to pace. Walking to her desk, she picked up the same photo Rodrigo had held earlier, fighting back her revulsion at even touching the same object he had touched. Approaching Booth, she held out the picture until he took it from her hands, looking at her questioningly. "He threatened to kill the people in this picture, Booth, my family, people I love. To pick them off one by one just to make me suffer." Booth caught one of her hands, squeezing it comfortingly.

"Baby, we can protect our family. We can make sure he can't get to them," he told her confidently, surprised when she pulled her hand away and walked over to gaze out at the floor of the Jeffersonian much as Nathaniel had done earlier, wrapping her arms around her waist. She knew Booth believed what he said and she trusted him with her life, but she had seen, firsthand, what these men were capable of and knew, without a doubt, if Rodrigo was in the States none of her family was safe until he got what he wanted. She desperately needed to make Booth understand that without having to relive the horrors she had seen, but she didn't see any other way. Finally giving in to the images that had been bombarding her brain since she awoke in Angela's office, she was once again back in that terrible place.

Brennan stared out toward the platform, but she didn't see her lab, her house of reason. She saw broken, bloody bodies. Bodies who got broken and bloody trying to keep her safe. She heard screams, blood curdling screams of pain and horror that morphed into groans and pleas for mercy, but there was no mercy to be found within the cold, dark walls of their prison. The groans faded to whimpers and finally gasps and gurgles before fading altogether. She would never forget those sounds; she had heard them in her sleep and woke up screaming for months. She still had those dreams, just not very often. And she would never, ever forget that it was all her fault, the broken bodies, the suffering, the screams, she was responsible for all of it. Booth was absolutely right, she'd had no business playing at being a spy. She had jumped at the chance to feed her sense of adventure and other people had paid for her mistake with their lives. She couldn't let that happen again.

Silently walking up behind her, Booth just stood nearby, her body language telling him she didn't want to be touched right now. "Baby, I will protect you. He won't get near you." Booth was startled by the harsh laughter that came from Brennan. But not nearly as startled as Brennan herself, the hysterical edge of the laughter letting her know just how far her control had slipped.

"He won't come for me himself, Booth. He has underlings for that and he won't stop until he gets what he wants. You can't protect me or our family forever and eventually he will get to someone and what about the people caught in the crossfire, Booth? I can assure he doesn't mind casualties. So which person that I love do I sentence to death so that I can stay safe? Whose life do I sacrifice for my own? Yours? Angela? Hodgins? Nathaniel? My father? Alex or the twins? Daniel?" She turned away quickly but Booth saw the tears streaking her cheeks, immediately knowing from her attitude and the wild look in her eyes that something was very, very wrong with his Bones. Something way beyond a psychotic killer being after her.

Brennan felt his hand settle on her shoulder and moved away from the touch. She couldn't let him be all tender and caring with her right now because she would shatter into a million pieces, she would curl up in his arms where she knew she was safe and loved and never leave them. She didn't deserve his comfort on this one, and she couldn't let him talk her out of doing what she knew was right. She had to be strong and do this, she repeated to herself. If she could keep her family safe, it didn't matter what happened to her. She didn't want to die but she wanted to lose someone she cared about even less. Enough people had died because of her.

Booth looked helplessly at the other four men in the room. They obviously knew at least a little about what was going on with his wife at the moment. Nathaniel approached Brennan, glancing at Booth for permission to interfere. Booth nodded, glad to accept any help because he was at a loss, he'd never seen Brennan like this before and now sure as hell wasn't the time for jealousy. Walking up very closely to Brennan, Nathaniel was careful not to touch her, leaning his head down and speaking so quietly even Booth couldn't hear what he said. Brennan shook her head furiously and Nathaniel kept speaking in a soft, soothing voice.

"No." Brennan's voice was thick with tears, but Nathaniel kept talking as if she hadn't spoken. Booth thought for an instant that Brennan was softening, then he caught the names Jennifer and Chloe and she absolutely exploded, shoving Nathaniel so hard he stumbled backward a couple of steps, openly sobbing now.

"No, Nathaniel. No one else dies because of me. I've already killed way too many people. I can't, I won't, just stand around and watch more people die." She yelled at him.

_Enough_, thought Booth, listening to his wife's words with astonishment. She believed every word she had just spoken. She actually believed that she, rather than the murdering bastards, was responsible for the deaths at their hands. _Well, he'd had just about enough of this shit._ Striding over to her, he pulled his resisting wife into his arms, wrapping her up tightly against his body.

"Get out," he growled at the other four men, who immediately turned to do as he asked, shutting the door behind them. Booth lifted Brennan in his arms and carried her to the sofa, sitting down with her in his lap. Her head dropped to his shoulder and she clutched him tightly, sobbing softly. He softly stroked her hair, dropping kisses on her head and whispering soft, soothing words, patiently waiting for her to calm down. After what seemed like an eternity, her tears finally slowed and then stopped. Tilting her face upward, Booth gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"Care to tell me what that was all about?" he asked softly.

"My little freak in?" Despite the tension of the past few hours, Booth burst into laughter. He couldn't help it, delighted to see signs of his Bones present and accounted for.

"It's freak out, Baby, not freak in," he corrected her with a grin. "And you know exactly what I'm talking about," he chided, his expression turning stern. She reached up and stroked his face gently, she so did not want to ever have to remember those days in captivity, but she needed to make him understand exactly what kind of person they were dealing with. Settling her head back against his shoulder and twining his fingers with hers, she began to speak softly.

"I assume Nathaniel told you that I used to help them out sometimes?" She knew he hadn't liked hearing about what she had been up to by the way his arms tightened reflexively.

"Yeah." They were going to have a nice long "discussion" about that and very soon, but she obviously had something else to tell him right now.

"Two years ago, my team was out of the country and I was approached by the CIA and told they urgently needed identification of some remains in Nicaragua. I was told they thought the remains were of American soldiers who had disappeared in the jungle several years ago and their families had waited long enough to find out what happened to them." Booth stiffened. Whoever had come up with the cover story had to know Brennan, there was no other way they could have come up with something designed so specifically to tug on her heartstrings, something almost guaranteed to get her immediate acquiescence any other way. _Son of a bitch. Did they now have to worry about a traitor in their midst on top of everything else? _

"I was expecting to be in and out within a few days and the CIA sent a dozen soldiers, so I wasn't really worried about safety. We were given the location and transportation by the Nicaraguan liaison. His name was Juan Rodrigo." Brennan shuddered as she said the name and Booth cursed under his breath, fighting hard to keep his body relaxed. This was obviously very difficult for her to talk about and he didn't want to make it any harder by getting upset.

"Just before dark on the first night, our convoy was attacked. At the time, we had no idea by whom or why and six of the soldiers were killed. Two more were seriously injured, but we managed to get away from the vehicles and hide in the jungle. One of the soldiers died from his wounds that night and the other one wasn't doing well. There were armed men everywhere we turned, so we had no choice but to hide." Brennan stopped, shuddering and Booth rubbed her back soothingly, silently offering her comfort and support.

"On the third morning, we came to a very small settlement, just five or six huts with an extended family living there. I insisted on taking the wounded soldier into the settlement. We could at least get clean water and bandages and we had to do something or he was going to die. He told us to just leave him and run, but I wouldn't listen and the others refused to leave me, so we took him into the settlement and the people there were wonderful, Booth. They had so little, but they offered us food, shelter and what medical assistance they could." Booth could tell from the tautness of her body and the little catch in her voice that the next part was going to be bad. He hugged her tightly wishing desperately that he could just make all the bad things disappear as if they had never been. Taking several deep, shuddering breaths, she tried to force herself to relax, finally realizing that was impossible right now and continued.

"They found us in the middle of the night. The villagers had hidden us in their storage hut, but the guerillas insisted on searching everything and it didn't take them long to find us. The men protecting me were completely out of ammunition from the previous attack, but they still killed four of the others before we were captured." Booth was startled when Brennan suddenly pushed out of his arms and bounded to her feet, pacing furiously and running an agitated hand through her hair. "Two more men died for me that night, Booth." Seeing he had no idea what she was trying to tell him, she stopped her pacing in front of him and looked at him levelly. "They died because of me, Booth. It was my fault. They wanted to move on but I insisted we stop." Understanding dawned on Booth's face but instead of the disgust Brennan had braced herself for, he gave her a look of such understanding that it broke her heart. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down to sit beside him, turning to fully face her.

"Baby, it wasn't your fault. They were soldiers doing their job. They knew the risks and chose to take them. You didn't kill anyone, Brennan." He could see she didn't agree with him and shelved his arguments for later. Obviously, logical rational Brennan had stepped out for a few moments. Taking both of her hands in his, he squeezed them in encouragement, his heart lifting when she squeezed back.

"We were taken back to Perez's compound and thrown into cells. I don't know how long I was there when a man came into the room and introduced himself as Manuel Perez. He made my skin crawl; you could almost see the evil emanating from him. He told me that I had to be punished for embarrassing him and just laughed when I tried to reason with him, to bargain for the safety of the others." Her voice broke and Booth saw she was fighting back tears. "I expected to be tortured, I wasn't looking forward to it, but I knew he wasn't just going to kill me quickly, he was enjoying himself too much." Tears were rolling freely down her cheeks now and Booth's gut clenched, terrified of what that psycho had done to her. He tried to be patient, but found this was something he had to know.

"Did he hurt you, Baby?" he asked quietly. Her eyes lifted and the anguish he saw there broke his heart.

"He never touched me, Booth. He brought the wounded soldier into my cell and had him tortured and beaten while he made me watch. Then he left him to die in my arms." Her tears had turned to sobs and he pulled her to him tightly, burying his face in her hair, horrified at her story. He knew his Bones would gladly have taken the physical pain herself rather than see it inflicted on another and it took a real sick son of a bitch to come up with something that twisted.

"Oh, Baby, I'm so sorry you had to go through that," he whispered, his voice husky, praying that was the worst thing she had to tell him. Nodding, she pulled back slightly.

"After he had the second soldier killed, he said he was bored and took me out into a courtyard." Her voice broke on a sob, and Booth closed his eyes, dreading what was coming. "His men led in the men from the settlement, the ones who had been so kind to us. They had been beaten but were still all standing. He lined them up against the wall and…," she couldn't talk through the sobs, and leaned against him weakly.

"Shh, it's ok, Baby, I've got you." He didn't know what else to do except hug her to him, let her feel his warm presence, surround her with his love. "He had them executed, didn't he?" He asked quietly, thinking to spare her from having to say the words, but she shook her head violently, her head coming up.

"No, Booth, he had them used for target practice, starting with non-vital portions of the anatomy. It took hours, Booth, and there was nothing I could do to stop it, since he was only doing it to punish me. Seven more people died that day, Booth. Seven people whose only sin was having the misfortune to meet me." Her voice was haunted and Booth's heart broke all over again. What kind of sick creep was this guy?

"It wasn't your fault, Baby," he reassured her but knew he wasn't getting through, hoping that was all she had endured but very much afraid it wasn't.

"He started the next day off with another soldier and moved on to the women of the settlement." Brennan's voice was strained with rage and hate and Booth had a good idea what was coming. "He gave them to his men, they took turns raping them in the cell next to mine so I could hear everything and the ones who survived multiple assaults were used for target practice later that day." Booth had no idea how to help her through these awful memories, he could see she was almost catatonic, way past tears at this point, but she was determined to finish this. "By the time Steven got to my cell, I was ready to die. I wanted Perez to just kill me and stop the pain, which was, of course, the whole point of the exercise. But I didn't die that day. I got to watch yet another person, someone I really cared about, die because of me." She finished tiredly and Booth saw her eyes were almost closed, their lack of sleep the night before and the emotional roller coaster ride of this day finally catching up with her.

"SShh, Baby, go to sleep," he urged, holding her close, "everything is going to be fine." Her snort of disbelief was soft but Booth heard it clearly. Within minutes, she was sound asleep and he just held her for a long time, thankful that she had survived her ordeal and come back to him.

He couldn't believe she had gone through something like that and he'd had no idea, but he would know about everything that happened in her life from here on out. Her very long life, if he had anything to say about it. She seemed to think it would be impossible to escape Rodrigo, but hadn't really told him why, but he wasn't about to wake her to ask. He knew four other people who had the answers he needed and they were going to talk whether they wanted to or not. They didn't have a lot of time and they had to figure out how to keep the love of his life safe and take out the sick bastard who didn't deserve to live because after what Brennan had told him, he was just as determined as she that the man be stopped. He just wasn't willing to risk her life to do it. Placing a soft kiss on her cheek, he gently lowered her to the couch and covered her, staring down at her for long seconds before turning for the door determined to get his answers.


	10. Chapter 10

**All right, people, I need some reviews here. Musie is getting whiny and threatening to stop writing. So, come on, and help me out here. I even gave you gratuitous shower sex in this one.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth quietly closed the door to Brennan's office and approached the four men who were lounging on the lower steps of the center platform, noting the fatigue on their faces, in the slumps of their shoulders. He was tired, too, but they didn't really have a lot of time, so they were going to talk this thing out tonight. But, he could at least give them somewhere to sit in comfort and some coffee, he decided as they all glanced up at his approach.

"She ok?" questioned Nathaniel. Booth nodded, ignoring the green eyed monster at the other man's obvious concern over Brennan's welfare.

"She's asleep," he said quietly. "We need to talk," he added glancing at each of the soldiers who nodded their agreement.

"Come on," said Booth heading toward the steps leading toward the observation deck. They could talk in comfort and he could keep an eye on Brennan's office at the same time. The other four silently followed him, sighing in gratitude when he led them to a coffee pot and told them to help themselves. Within minutes, they were all seated much more comfortably, sipping steaming cups of coffee.

"Bones told me what Perez did to her," Booth began softly, noting that all four men's eyes dropped to the floor as if they couldn't face him because of their failure to protect her. He certainly knew that feeling of failure when it came to his wife. Hadn't she been shot right in front of him with him holding a gun on the suspect? He wanted to hate them, but he was a fair man and these men had spent the last three years watching Brennan's back, keeping her safe in his absence and he could only be grateful for that. He definitely still had issues with Nathaniel but him being responsible for the Perez situation wasn't one of them.

"It wasn't your fault," he told the four men quietly, noting the disbelieving looks they sent his way. "You all went in and saved her," he continued, astonished at himself offering the words of comfort. He could tell they were grateful for the effort but they still blamed themselves and nothing he could say was going to change that, it was just something they were going to have to figure out on their own.

"What kind of shape was she in when you got to her?" Booth leaned forward, knowing Brennan's tendency to gloss over her own emotions and responses, he needed to hear from the people who had been there how she had been affected by her treatment at the hands of Perez.

"Bad," Nathaniel almost whispered, turning away to gaze into space.

"The bastard left the dead bodies of the soldiers in her cell," whispered Gavin. _Oh, God_, thought Booth, shuddering in revulsion at the thought of her being forced to watch them die then being trapped in a small space with the bodies. _What kind of sick freak did that? One who wouldn't be doing it much longer, he would make sure of that._ Jaw clenched to hold back the howls of fury fighting to escape, he turned to the quieter twin, nodding to indicate he should go on.

"When Steven and I opened the door, we didn't even see her, at first. She was curled up against the wall, turned away from the bodies and we thought she was dead, too. Until Steven went to her. As soon as she heard his voice, she started crying." Gavin had to stop for a moment to get control of his fury and disgust at what had taken place in that compound. He had seen a lot of men die, but he had never seen anything as twisted as what had been done to those people.

"We got her moving and Nathaniel radioed that they had found only one soldier, but we knew the others were already dead. Red insisted there were children from the settlement that were unaccounted for and that we had to find them and take them with us. We all agreed," he added just to make sure Booth knew they would never have left children in the hands of monsters. Garrett took over the story for his brother.

"I found a cell with three little boys in it, but they were already dead. The youngest one couldn't have been more than three," the anguish in his voice was apparent to everyone.

"We finally located two young girls from the settlement who were alive, grabbed them and started back out. That's when the shit hit the fan," said Nathaniel harshly. "Rodrigo had decided to join the party and, it seems, he has a thing for young girls." Booth didn't have to ask what Nathaniel meant. He could easily tell the man was a pedophile by the words and the looks of disgust the men wore and there were few things Booth hated more than someone who preyed on children. He had already decided that this man wouldn't be walking away from threatening his wife and family, this information only cemented his resolve.

"We had already taken out all the guards on our way in, but Rodrigo was coming to visit the girls and saw us slipping out of the building they were being held in, sounding the alarm. The guards opened fire and one of my men was hit." He didn't share that Steven had deliberately stepped in front of a bullet aimed at Brennan, if she wanted Booth to know that, she would tell him herself. "He didn't make it." Booth was startled when Alex jumped from his seat and stalked away but none of the other three seemed surprised by his actions. "We got far enough away then we blew the hell out of that place," Nathaniel's voice held satisfaction at the destruction they had inflicted on that evil place. "Unfortunately, Perez and Rodrigo made it to escape tunnels but they were both badly wounded." Booth was glad they had destroyed the place where so many people had suffered so much, but his question hadn't really been answered.

"And how was Bones?" Of course, he knew she had been traumatized, but he could judge how traumatized she had been by her immediate reaction.

"She wouldn't let anyone except Alex and the girls near her for three days," Garrett said quietly. "She wouldn't eat or sleep." It had been bad, then. Really, really bad thought Booth recalling how this behavior mirrored the time when he was supposedly dead.

"She didn't say a word to anyone but Alex and she just kept telling him she was sorry." Gavin added. _What? Why would she tell Alex she was sorry? What was he not getting here? _

"Steven was my brother," Alex said quietly as if he could read Booth's mind, stepping from the shadows.

"I'm sorry," Booth told the other man levelly. There was really nothing else to say. "Tell me more about Rodrigo," he requested.

"He's a lowlife piece of shit," Alex hissed and the others added their agreements.

"Yeah," agreed Nathaniel, "but his family is very wealthy and his political power in his country is well established. When he became an operative for the CIA, it pretty much cemented him as untouchable."

"Nobody is untouchable," Booth argued. "How did he get mixed up with Perez? Is that what he was doing for the CIA?"

"That was his cover story, but the truth is that he's just another sick fuck who enjoys the same things Perez does. He likes watching people suffer and with Perez, he got plenty of that without risking his reputation as an upstanding citizen." Alex's loathing of the man was obvious. Booth knew the man had betrayed this team not once, but twice, costing them two of their own and doing his best to kill a woman they all would obviously die to protect. He was having a very hard time understanding why they hadn't just taken the man out with or without orders, then he remembered their promise to Brennan. Honorable men as they were, they would feel bound to uphold their vow until they were released from it. Well, he hadn't promised any such thing and they could either help him or get out of his way. Before he could tell them how it was going to be, Nathaniel brought it up.

"Booth, Red is right. If we take her out of here, Rodrigo will start killing people and he won't care how many go down. He's just that twisted and more than a little crazy. He thinks he is above the law, untouchable, and so far, he has been." Booth's eyes narrowed on the younger man.

"I sincerely hope you're not suggesting that I let her act as bait," he hissed in a deadly, quiet voice, only to sit back in astonishment as all four men broke into laughter. _Well, hell, he was going to have to work on his threatening face if they thought it was funny._

"Let her?" gasped Alex, between laughs. "Surely you don't think you _let_ her do anything?" Booth was almost offended, but when you were right, you were right and Alex was absolutely correct. Brennan did what she thought was right. She might listen to his input but she didn't need anyone's permission, not even his. He couldn't help the rueful grin that floated across his face, lightening the tense situation.

"No, Booth, I'm not suggesting that she agree to help General Hood," Nathaniel answered Booth's earlier charge, still grinning at the thought of someone telling Brennan what to do and her actually doing it, "But I am saying that we don't have much time to come up with an alternative because if she is determined to do this, you won't be able to stop her." Nathaniel's voice was calm, but he could tell Booth didn't like hearing what he was saying. _Well, tough, they needed to work together to keep someone they all cared about safe and remove the threat permanently._ That was all that mattered right now, they could settle any personal issues later, they didn't have time for that shit right now.

Booth knew Nathaniel was telling the truth, but that didn't mean he had to like hearing it. No, if Brennan was determined to help Hood, he wouldn't be able to stop her, leaving only one alternative. They had to take out Rodrigo before he could carry through on his threats. Lifting his head, Booth looked at each of Brennan's defenders in turn, his gaze finally settling on Nathaniel.

"We have to take him out before he has a chance to make a move on her," he said quietly, knowing what he was suggesting was way outside the bounds of the law and not really caring if that's what it took to keep the people he loved safe. Nathaniel's eyebrow lifted. He had already come to this conclusion, but was surprised that Booth was so ready to cross the line. From what Brennan had said about her partner, Nathaniel had gotten the impression that he would have to be dragged across the line, but, it appeared, he was just like the rest of them and would do whatever was necessary to keep her safe.

"I agree," Nathaniel offered quietly.

"Us, too," the other three answered in unison.

"Any ideas?" questioned Garrett to the room in general.

"A few," answered Booth, turning to Nathaniel. "What kind of equipment can you get your hands on?" Nathaniel's grin was the only answer Booth needed. He could lay his hands on whatever they needed. "Do you know how to find Rodrigo?" Nathaniel's grin grew even broader.

"As a matter of fact, we do. We tagged him this afternoon." Well, well, Booth was actually impressed.

"Now," Booth stood, stretching. "It's getting late and I need to get Bones home, so how about we meet back here in the morning?" Nathaniel stood but the others kept their seats, waiting for the show to begin. They knew Nathaniel would insist on protection and didn't think Booth would be pleased with the idea.

"That's fine," agreed Nathaniel, "I need to talk to my dad, anyway, but Red doesn't go anywhere without at least two of us." His voice was hard, his tone making it clear this point was non-negotiable, which lit the fuse on Booth's temper. Planting his hands on his hips, he glared at Nathaniel.

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting my wife, Pearson," he growled. Nathaniel wasn't trying to start a fight but he was immovable on this point so he gave logic a shot.

"I don't doubt that, Booth. But what if Rodrigo decides to move up his timetable and tries to snatch her tonight? That would actually be brilliant and he's not exactly a trustworthy individual, so we really can't take anything he said at face value. So, you tell me, is she going to be safer with one person watching her back or with three?" Damn, Booth hated to admit it but Nathaniel was right. He seriously doubted that Rodrigo's word could be trusted and if they took him out, Brennan would be defenseless. He wasn't happy about having houseguests but, considering the situation, it would be the prudent thing to do.

"Fine," he snapped, pointing to the twins, "they can come with us." He figured they were the least annoying two of the group.

"Trust me, you do not want to do that," advised Alex, not even trying to hide his grin. "They argue enough to make you want to shoot them yourself just to shut them up."

"I need Gavin, anyway," Nathaniel told the laughing man with a grin. "That leaves you with Garrett." Alex gave a resigned sigh, then a shrug. Booth was already on his way to collect Brennan from her office when Alex threatening Garrett stopped him in his tracks and he swung around in disbelief.

"I swear to God, Garrett, if you start in with your pranks tonight, I will shoot you where you stand," he growled. Suddenly, Booth didn't feel so safe with them watching his back, "And even Red won't be able to protect you," the threats continued. _God, they sounded like a couple of five year olds. What the hell was he doing asking for their help? He'd be better off taking care of things on his own._

"Don't worry, Booth. They really are very good." Booth jumped as Brennan's voice reached him out of the shadows, her words making it clear she had overheard enough of their conversation to know what was going on. Stepping closer, she held out her hand. "Let's go home." He took her hand and she turned toward the stairs, raising her voice. "Alex, if he gets out of hand, I'll shoot him myself. Now, move it. I'm ready to go home." Booth could only laugh as the pair came charging down the stairs like good little soldiers. With a self-satisfied grin, Brennan turned toward the door, leading her troops out into the night.

****

Booth stirred, his hands reaching for Brennan, ready to pull her under him and put the aching hard on he had woken with to good use. His usual morning erection had been helped along by a very erotic dream he had been having about his wife and he was eager to turn those dreams into reality. Coming to full wakefulness when he realized her side of the bed was empty, he sat up in full panic mode, until he heard two voices talking quietly in the other room, easily identifying them as Brennan and Alex. Glancing at the clock, he groaned, seeing it was almost 5:30. _Time to get up. Bad choice of words_, he thought with a grimace, _he already was up. Time to get out of bed._ They were supposed to meet back at the lab at 0630. With a sigh, he slid out of bed and headed for the bathroom, wishing Brennan was in there with him as he entered and was hit with a face full of steam indicating she had already showered. Instantly surrounded by her scent, he felt his cock twitch and seriously considered dragging her away from her conversation with Alex to wash his back and other assorted body parts. With a sigh of resignation, he turned on the water and stepped into the shower.

The warm water flowing sinuously over his firm muscles certainly did nothing to relax him, making him think of warm hands and lips' flowing over all the places the water was touching, pebbling his nipples and making him so hard he hurt. Resignedly, he turned the water to cold and stood, shivering, under the downpour for several minutes until he realized only one thing was going to take care of his problem. Turning the water back over to warm, fervently wishing Brennan would wander into the bathroom and knowing that was unlikely, he reached down and closed his hand around his erection, stroking slowly from base to tip.

Closing his eyes, he braced one hand against the wall and allowed his mind to revisit the dream that had left him needing release so badly. Interestingly enough, he had been in the shower doing exactly this, when he felt her soft hands running up and down his back. Quickly removing his hand from his cock, he tried to turn toward her, but she held him in place by slipping her arms around his waist and grasping his erection in one hand, pumping up and down, while using her lips, teeth and tongue on every inch of skin she could reach. Moaning, Booth's eyes drifted closed, every stroke of her hand making him harder and hotter. He almost whimpered in dismay when she took her hand away, but the sound turned to a groan as she urged him to turn toward her.

Swinging around, he jerked her against him, taking her mouth with lips and tongue, pulling gasps and groans from her throat. His hand stroked faster, the water flowing over his body unsatisfactorily simulating her hands and lips, but the images in his head made up for what the water lacked, causing the knot of desire to curl even more tightly in his abdomen as his cock throbbed.

Tightening his hand fingers and speeding his strokes, he let his mind see her gracefully going down to her knees in front of him, looking up with those beautiful blue eyes dark with desire. Her tongue flicked out and licked him from base to tip along the nerve that made his gut clench when she licked it like that. Moaning, he stroked harder, faster as those sexy pink lips parted and she slid them down over his aching hardness, taking him deep. Pulling back and completely releasing him, she grinned at his whimper.

"Hold on, Baby," she ordered, grasping the base of his hard on in her hand, her lips sliding slowly back down until he could feel his tip bumping the back of her throat. Then she was done with slow, her head moving rapidly back and forth, and, God, she had a magic mouth, using her teeth, lips and tongue to stimulate him beyond anything he'd ever known with anyone else. Panting, his strokes hard and fast, he teetered on the edge, the images in his head so strong and eliciting so much pleasure he almost didn't want it to end. But his orgasm erupted without his permission, dragging a long, low groan of completion from his lips and leaving him leaning weakly against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

Forty-five minutes later, he quietly left the bedroom, dressed except for the jacket he carried over his arm. Brennan and Alex were so deep in conversation they didn't hear him approach, actually Brennan didn't hear him. Alex knew the instant he stepped out of the bedroom, he just ignored his approach because he was trying to make a point with Brennan.

"They want to see you, Red. They miss you." Brennan looked away, the look of sadness on her face making Booth's heart ache for her.

"How can they want to see me, Alex? After what I did, how could they even stand to be in the same room with me? How can you even stand to look at me, Alex? I killed your brother." Her voice was filled with guilt and anguish and Booth wanted nothing more than to go to her, to offer comfort, but his gut told him that would be the wrong thing to do right now, so he waited. With a patient sigh, Alex reached out and pressed both of her hands between his.

"It wasn't your fault, Red. They know that and they love you, just like the rest of us. You're the only one who blames you for Steven's death. I never did and Sara and Nicole certainly don't, but they do miss you," he assured her softly. Patting her hand, he continued, "Sara told me you set up a trust fund for Nicole and paid their house off." He ignored Brennan's sputtered denials. "Come on, Red. She is a very smart woman and just because you did it anonymously doesn't mean she couldn't figure it out." Brennan dropped her eyes, peeking at him through her lashes and Booth wanted to laugh. She looked like a little girl trying to figure out how much trouble she was in.

"Was she mad?" she almost whispered.

"Livid," answered Alex cheerfully, "but mostly because you wouldn't even take her calls. She got over it," he assured her with a shrug, "but you should at least give her the chance to thank you." Brennan started to shake her head stubbornly, but Alex reached out and caught her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him.

"Red, my brother was a soldier, just like me. He chose that life knowing the dangers and he chose to step in front of a bullet that day because that's the kind of man he was. He would have taken a bullet for a stranger, much less one of us, especially you and I really hate to say this to you, Red, but it's time someone did." He wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked her levelly in the eyes, the gesture so brotherly that Booth didn't feel even a twinge of jealousy. "You dishonor his memory by blaming yourself and refusing to acknowledge that he acted with honor and courage doing what he thought was the right thing." Hearing Brennan's gasp, Booth winced in sympathy, but he didn't interfere, maybe Alex could get through that guilt that was eating her up. She jerked her head backward, but Alex refused to let her go, not hurting her but not letting her run away, either. It was time to put a stop to this.

"He would hate that you won't even talk to his wife and daughter. You knew him almost as well as I did, Red. What do you think he would say if he could see you right now?" To Booth's complete astonishment, a muffled laugh came out of Brennan's mouth and she tried to imitate a husky, male voice.

"For God's sake, Red, can the damn water works. You know I can't stand to see a woman cry. Now get off your ass, use the brain God gave you and figure out how to take care of Rodrigo and Perez without getting yourself killed." She was giggling as she finished and Alex was smiling broadly, letting go of her chin and patting her hand approvingly.

"Sounds just like him," Booth spun around to see a smiling Garrett standing behind him. Damn, the kid was quiet. Granted, he had been listening intently to Alex and Brennan but the kid hadn't made a sound to alert him to his approach.

"What?" he demanded.

"She sounds just like Steven," he indicated Brennan with a pointing finger, "words, tone, everything. You should hear her imitate Nathaniel's father. It's hilarious." Booth stared at the young man in befuddlement. The Temperence Brennan he knew did not imitate people, especially for fun. Briefly wondering if had awoken in an alternate reality, he tuned back in to Brennan to hear her giving in to Alex's nagging.

"Fine, Alex. When this is over, I'll call Sara." She promised.

"Good," he answered placidly, giving her hand a final pat before turning to wish Booth and Garrett a good morning. Flushing a little, Brennan turned to also wish the other two a good morning, her eyes passing briefly over Garrett, to focus on Booth.

"There's coffee in the kitchen," she told the two, who both gratefully headed in that direction. Brennan followed them into the kitchen and Garrett grabbed a cup of coffee, quickly clearing out to give the couple some privacy.

"Hi," said Brennan invading his personal space.

"Hi," he returned with a grin, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. "I missed you when I woke up," he told her leaning down to nip at her lower lip, taking full advantage and slipping his tongue past her lips when they parted on a gasp. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she molded her body to his, returning the kiss passionately. When the need for oxygen became paramount, they reluctantly separated, each longingly thinking of calling in sick, crawling back into bed and spending the day making love. Unfortunately, they had psychotic killers to thwart so that just wasn't possible this morning. With one last kiss and a huge sigh of regret, Booth turned her toward the kitchen doorway, reminding her to take the video and photos of the wedding. Brennan gasped and hurried off to grab them, grateful for the reminder. She physically shuddered to think of Angela's reaction if she failed to produce the promised items this morning.

Forty minutes later, having picked up breakfast on the way, they entered the lab, Booth biting his lip to stifle laughter as he listened to Brennan lecture the two soldiers on proper deportment in the lab.

"I mean it, Garrett," she told the young man sternly, "if you pull even one prank in this lab, you will answer to me."

"Ok, ok," he held his hands up in surrender, "I'll behave." Then she turned to Alex.

"Come on, Red," he whined before she could open her mouth.

"No, Alex," her voice was even sterner than it had been with Garrett. Booth had no idea what she was warning Alex not to do, but Garrett was laughing almost hysterically, so it must be good.

"Not even Angela?" Alex pleaded and Brennan's eyes widened in horror.

"Especially not Angela," she snapped, not seeing the teasing light in the man's eyes, "I mean it, Alex. Angela, my grad students, my interns, they're all off limits." She assured him.

"What about Cam? She's very pretty." Alex couldn't resist riling her up. It was just so much fun. Booth caught on and couldn't contain his laughter at Brennan warning Alex not to seduce the people in the lab. Brennan gasped at Alex's question, but turned on Booth.

"Don't encourage him, Booth. You don't know what he's like." She informed her husband. Turning back to Alex, she gritted out, "No one, Alex, everyone is off limits." Then she turned and marched toward her office, obviously very put out with the three men staring after her in admiration.

"Too bad she doesn't have a sister," sighed Alex, only half jokingly. Booth snorted. He wasn't sure the world could handle another one like his Bones.


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm back. I hope you like this chapter, but even if you don't please review. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

After handing Alex and Garrett their breakfast and directing them to the break room, Booth followed Brennan to her office. Giving her breakfast to her, he sat himself down and started on his own, just as his phone rang. Trying to juggle his phone, breakfast and coffee, he looked at the caller ID, frowned curiously and put it on speakerphone, setting the phone on Brennan's desk.

"Booth."

"What the hell is wrong with you, Cherie?" demanded a very irritated Caroline Julian. Booth winced at the tone. He had called Cullen earlier, requesting an emergency leave without going into details. His leave had been granted, but he was scheduled to appear in court for Caroline today and she was obviously very unhappy that he was unavailable.

"Is this about my court appearance today, Caroline?" Booth made his voice soothing, hoping to avoid the Wrath of Caroline. She was almost as deadly as Bones.

"No, Booth, I just randomly decided to call and harass you. Of course, it's about your court appearance today," she snapped. Booth stiffened as she started mumbling, that was never a good sign and he thought he heard moron in there somewhere.

"I'm sorry, Caroline, but I needed to take an emergency leave. You'll just have to ask for a continuance, I guess." He was still trying to sooth her, but could tell it was most likely pointless.

"Are you hurt or dying, Seeley Booth?" she questioned, her quiet voice sending a shiver down Booth's spine.

"No, Caroline, I'm fine. I just can't leave Bones," he explained with a sigh.

"Why? Is something wrong with your favorite squint? Is she hurt?" Caroline's voice was still a bit sharp, but Booth was warmed by the underlying concern.

"No, Caroline, I'm fine, too," Brennan answered cheerfully before Booth could. The dead silence on the other end of the phone made the hairs on the back of Booth's neck stand up.

"So you can't come to court for me today because you want some alone time with your girlfriend?" Booth actually flinched at the building fury in her tone. Brennan snorted and answered for him again.

"No, Caroline, we're in my office," she stated factually.

"So you can't come to court for me today because of what exactly?" Her voice was, once again, deadly quiet.

"Caroline, Bones is in danger and I don't want to leave her." He patiently explained, startled by her snort.

"As far as I can tell, trouble follows the bone lady around like a pet dog and she usually is in danger, so I need something better than that, Booth." He could see he was going to have to give her more than he had shared with Cullen and knew he could trust her with the information.

"Someone's trying to kill her, Caroline." Caroline heaved a sigh and Booth knew he had her. Until Brennan decided to correct him.

"Technically, that's not true, Booth. He didn't actually even threaten my life, he simply threatened to kidnap me and turn me over to Perez, who would kill me." Briefly closing his eyes, he shook his head, knowing Caroline would have more to say for sure now.

"So, is someone trying to kill her or not, Cherie?" she was getting sarcastic, not a good sign.

"I just explained that to you, Caroline."Brennan's voice held exaggerated patience and Booth could practically see Caroline rolling her eyes.

"Is someone trying to kill her right now, this second?" she snapped, just about at the end of her admittedly short patience.

"We're eating breakfast right now, Caroline. But I would have to say; yes, she is in danger right now." Booth explained.

"Technically, he said he wouldn't come for me for 48 hours, Booth, and there are still 36 hours left." Brennan reminded him and he could practically feel the air stir from Caroline's outraged gasp.

"Now, you listen to me, Seeley Booth. I've spent months on this case. This is a very bad man and the jury is ready to throw the book at him right now. If I ask for a continuance, who knows what they'll do when they come back after a break? Isn't there someone else who can babysit the brainiac for an hour?" She had started off almost threatening, but was almost pleading by the end and Booth felt really badly at turning her down. Not only did he really like Caroline, this guy deserved to have the book thrown at him, but he needed to protect his wife. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to deny her request, but Caroline's plea had reached Brennan's sense of civic duty.

"Are you sure it will only take an hour, Caroline?" she questioned.

"It should only take an hour, Cherie, two at the very most," she assured Brennan, sensing victory within her grasp. Seeing the look on Brennan's face, Booth braced himself to resist both women.

"Booth, maybe you should testify for her," she suggested.

"I'm not leaving you," he stubbornly insisted.

"Booth, is this man guilty?" He nodded. "Will the world be a safer place with him in prison?" _Most definitely_, he thought, nodding again. Caroline knew an ally when she heard one and kept her mouth shut, letting Brennan do the convincing for her.

"Booth, I'm safe here in the lab and I have a Special Forces unit, a Congressman and, oh God, my dad," Booth's head jerked around at her words and, sure enough, Nathaniel, Gavin, Daniel and Max had just walked in and been met by Alex and Garret. _Shit, Booth was tempted to give in just to get out of telling Max he had married his daughter without him in attendance, but he didn't._ Swallowing hard, Brennan continued, determined to make him do the right thing. "Booth, surely you can trust them," she waved her hand toward the group of men standing in the middle of the room, "to protect me for two hours. You need to put a bad guy away," she urged, "that's what we do." She could see he was torn, but didn't push him further, allowing him to make his own decision.

"Booth, you know if this guy gets off, he'll just hurt someone else," said Caroline quietly.

"Fine, Caroline," he snapped, unable to ignore the pleading in Brennan's eyes for him to do the right thing. "You've got two hours, but then I'm out of there," he told her firmly.

"In and out, I promise. Thank you, Cherie," she was truly grateful. "And Dr. Brennan, you stay put and be careful," she encouraged, breaking the connection.

Brennan gave Booth such a proud smile that he couldn't be angry with him. She had her values and she stuck by them, no matter what. Unable to help himself, he returned the smile.

"I have some conditions," he told her, noting that her smile dimmed a bit at the statement.

"What conditions?" she asked suspiciously.

"You don't leave this lab, under any circumstances, until I get back." Noting the narrowed eyes, he didn't give an inch, until finally she nodded. "You do whatever Nathaniel tells you." Booth almost laughed aloud at that one. A few hours ago, he would have choked on that order, but things could change a lot in a few hours. "And you don't tell your dad we're married until I get back," he almost laughed at the relief on her face over that one, but they would face his ire together.

"Okay," she grinned back at him. Grabbing a couple more bites of his breakfast, he put it aside, got to his feet, strode over and tilted her head up.

"I mean it, Bones. You don't leave the lab and you listen to Nathaniel," he reminded her firmly. Receiving a nod, he leaned down and kissed her lingeringly. Straightening before he could get carried away, he grabbed his coffee and headed out to let Nathaniel know where he was going and that it was his responsibility to keep Bones safe while he was gone.

Brennan watched Booth with a soft smile on her face as he walked up to the group of men conversing outside her office. He shook hands with Max and Daniel, then pulled Nathaniel aside. He spoke quickly to the young soldier but his expression turned stubborn and militant as Nathaniel spoke back. Brennan might not be able to read body language on the average person, but she had spent enough time with the soldiers and her husband to know Nathaniel was insisting on something and Booth didn't like it at all. Her attention was so intently focused on the two men, she was startled when Max knocked softly on her doorjamb and walked into the office.

"Dad, hi," she said softly, returning his smile, "What are you doing here?" Max couldn't help but laugh at his daughter's straight forward question. You never had to wonder where you stood with her.

"Hi, honey. Daniel called me," he informed her, walking over to give her a kiss on the cheek, which she readily accepted which told Max she wasn't really mad about him being here and that was good. Unfortunately, that was likely to change after he had his say. "You really should have called me yourself, you know." Brennan nodded a little shame faced and Max's eyes narrowed as he walked around her desk and seated himself. Not really the reaction he had expected. "Honey, I'm your father, I deserve to know about things that are going on in your life," he sighed softly, noting the look of guilt growing on her face, "especially when someone wants you dead." Her head snapped up and the guilty look vanished instantly.

"What? Why would I call you about Rodrigo?" She was genuinely curious and Max didn't know whether to be insulted that she didn't think he could help or hurt that she just hadn't thought he needed to know her life was in danger. But he answered her question anyway.

"Tempe, as your father, it is my job to take care of you. Now if this Rodrigo is threatening you, he needs to be taken out, and…," he was interrupted by his daughter.

"Dad," she said softly, "I know you would kill to protect me, but this is not your problem. I don't want you to kill anyone else, Dad," she almost pleaded, then, to his surprise, grinned at him, "Besides you'll have to get in line behind them." She nodded toward the group of soldiers. "They all think I need to be protected, too." Max had to grin at the disgust in her voice. "I can take care of myself," she insisted firmly and Max laughed aloud.

"I'd like to see you convince them of that, especially Booth. Where did Booth take off to, anyway?" Max was startled by the uncomfortable look that flashed across his daughter's face at the mention of Booth and his mind worked furiously coming to a conclusion that he just couldn't believe, but she had looked awfully guilty about not telling him something and it wasn't about the psycho after her, her surprise at his earlier comment made that apparent. "Honey, is there something you want to tell me?" he asked softly, watching her face intently. When her eyes fell, he knew there was definitely something big she was keeping from him.

_Did she want to tell him that she and Booth had secretly gotten married in Las Vegas and hadn't bothered to let him know?_ Um, no, she really, really didn't want to tell him that, besides, she had promised Booth, she remembered with relief. "No, Dad, there's really nothing I want to tell you right now." She met his eyes levelly and he finally nodded, convinced of her sincerity.

"Sweetie," Angela singsonged, backing into Brennan's office, her eyes locked on the group outside, "I'm so excited. Not only do you bring us eye candy again today but I get to see the video of your…,"

"Angela," Brennan snapped quite harshly, but she had to stop her friend's words. Angela swung around sharply, her face the very picture of injured feelings, until she noted Max sitting there and her eyes rounded almost comically.

"Oh, sorry, Bren," she whispered. "Hi, Max," she grinned at him.

"Hello, Angela," he smiled back, "What has you so excited?" Wide eyed, Angela glanced from Brennan to Max and back, completely at a loss for words. Unbelievably, Brennan came to her rescue and lied convincingly.

"Just an educational video I brought in for her, Dad," she said smoothly. _Apparently, being around her team was a bad influence and she was remembering how to lie quite well, _she thought in disgust. Angela stared at her best friend in wonder. She had never known her to be able to tell a lie without giving herself away, but even she couldn't tell Brennan was lying to her father. Wow, she was impressed. "Here, Ange," Brennan handed her a cloth bag containing the video and photographs, her eyes telling Angela to vacate the premises immediately. With a grin, she did just that, heading to her office to watch her best friend and Studly get married.

"Honey," Max said softly, shaking his head after Angela's hasty departure, "Daniel and I think you should let us take you some place safe until this whole mess gets taken care of." Brennan looked at her father levelly, she had known one of the older men would be making that suggestion, but was having trouble believing her father even thought she would comply.

"No," she said simply. Before she could say more, Daniel walked into the room and she glared at him fiercely.

After his murder trial, Max had come completely clean with Brennan and confided that Daniel had tracked him down more than two years before and had since kept him updated on what was going on in Brennan's life, the two becoming firm friends. Brennan had been furious at both men and refused to speak to Daniel for several weeks, but he had finally nagged until it was just too much trouble to be mad at him anymore. He was really good at that and she had given in with a blistering lecture on privacy and how she would tell her father what she wanted him to know. She had thought it had sunk in, but apparently not, as the two men were now conspiring against her.

"Daniel, you had no right to call my father and get him involved in this. And I'm not going anywhere," she informed her former friend, almost too angry to speak. Noting her fury, both men decided that momentary withdrawal was the best course of action. Neither man really expected her to agree to their plan but it was pointless to even try to reason with her when she was this angry. They quietly withdrew from the room, leaving her to stew.

She could not freaking believe that Daniel had called her father, tattling on her like she was a misbehaving teenager and her father had, of course, rushed in to talk some sense into her (She could actually hear the conversation in her head and was certain those exact words had been used by one or both men). Well, they could just bury those protective tendencies because she wasn't going anywhere. This whole mess was about her and she would be involved in ending it, they were not going to pat her on the head and shut her out like a helpless little girl. She wanted to scream in frustration and punch a couple of the overprotective men swarming around her to let them know she was strong and capable and hadn't forgotten a thing over the last two years. Firmly tamping her temper down, she decided she might as well get some work done while she was here. Putting on her lab coat, she strode from the room, her I'm Dr. Temperence Brennan and this is my lab face firmly in place.

She stopped in wonder only a few steps outside her office. There were more people milling about the floor of the lab than she had ever seen there before and they all appeared to be female, she noted after doing a quick scan of the room, a phenomenon she had seen more than once, she recalled with a sigh.

"Brennan, you have to do something about your soldiers," Cam demanded, hurrying over. "Women from every department in the building are urgently finding the need to visit our lab and it's interfering with our people's work." Cam finished in disgust, conveniently forgetting her own reaction to the first sighting of the four men.

"What do you want me to do, Cam?" Brennan inquired politely, biting her lip to hold back laughter.

"Tell them to get real ugly, real fast," Cam suggested and both women burst into laughter, just as Nathaniel stalked up to them, obviously upset.

"Cam, you're going to have to do something to control access to this lab for a few days," he demanded. "I can't imagine how you get anything done with all these people running in and out, but we can't protect Red in these conditions." Cam looked at the young man in disbelief. He couldn't possibly believe this madhouse was business as usual for them, but he, apparently, did, his attention so focused on keeping Brennan safe that he didn't even notice the openly flirtatious looks and invitations being sent his way. For just one second, Cam felt a pang of envy toward Brennan so strong that she was instantly ashamed of herself, but she did wonder what it would be like to have so many willing, able bodied men love you so much they would all die for you.

"Nathaniel, I can assure you that this is not the norm for this lab's operation, but I agree with you. The number of visitors is unacceptable. They are interfering with our ability to get anything done and it needs to stop. I can have the guards round everyone up and allow only selected people entrance. Does that work for you?" Flushing a little at the charming smile he gave her and the appearance of the dimple, Cam decided not to get into why all the women were here, she so was not having that conversation with this man.

Brennan had wandered off just after Nathaniel's first comment, leaving him and Cam to work it out. She had seen something out of the corner of her eye that she needed to take care of. Quietly approaching the soldier who was overtly flirting with one of her rather pretty grad students, she rolled her eyes as she heard the young woman invite him back to her place.

"Garrett," she snapped, and he jumped as if he had been shot turning toward her with a sheepish smile.

"Now, Red," he held his hands up pleadingly, knowing it wouldn't do any good with her. He was well and truly busted, but he was enough of a trooper to give it a shot. "You didn't technically say they were off limits to me, only to Alex," he reminded her with a puppy dog look and affectionate grin. Brennan had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, he was almost as good as Booth and Parker with the puppy dog looks. And she did have to admit that he had her, she hadn't forbid him to go after her people, but he knew better, so she couldn't just let him get away with it. _How else would he learn?_

"Fine, I have to admit that was an oversight on my part, but now I'm imposing the same behavioral parameters on you," she huffed, stifling a smile when he nodded, happily excused himself and walked away. Brennan let him take only a few steps before calling after him.

"And, Garrett, stop trying to get your brother in trouble," she ordered. He turned with a look of exaggerated innocence.

"Why, Red, you wound me. I don't know what you could mean by that," she snorted just as the grad student jumped into the conversation.

"Gavin, why is she calling you Garrett? And are we on for tonight or not?" Brennan just lifted her eyebrow and Garrett broke into laughter, winking at her and turning to the young lady, shrugging his shoulders.

"Sorry, doll, maybe some other time." Whistling, he turned and walked away. The student turned on Brennan, ready to release her ire at the forensic anthropologists interference, but one look at the good doctors face convinced her to keep it to herself and take herself off to find something to do.

Rubbing her forehead, Brennan headed toward Limbo for a little peace and quiet. She knew the grad student was upset with her but didn't really care. The only reason she had interfered and warned Alex off in the first place is she had seen these men in action. They would flirt and sometimes even seduce (that was mostly Alex, Garrett just flirted), leaving behind hurt feelings, broken friendships and the kind of chaos she had no intention of dealing with in her house of reason when they moved on. They weren't disrespectful of women, didn't mistreat them at all, they were just, well, men. Attractive, intelligent, young alpha males who enjoyed the effect they had on the opposite sex.

"Red!" her attention was caught by Alex's shout as he came running into the lab, closely followed by Garrett, the grim looks on both faces sending a shiver of dread down her spine. She immediately started toward Alex, but he pointed toward her office and headed in that direction, followed by the others, including Max and Daniel. Brennan entered her office to find Alex pacing angrily with Nathaniel trying to calm him down and find out what had happened.

"What's wrong, Alex?" Brennan asked, unable to suppress the quaver in her voice. Nathaniel answered her as Alex continued to pace.

"We tagged Rodrigo when he was in your office yesterday. I sent Alex and Garrett to check out the place we traced him to and stake it out but he was gone." Nathaniel told her quietly, deciding she didn't need to know the men who had been assigned surveillance last night had both been found in a nearby alley with their throats cut. Gavin took up the story.

"We decided to take a chance and went in. He has no intention of coming back to that place but he left this for you," Gavin held out a large envelope with Temperence written across the front. Despite her revulsion, she reached out a shaky hand and took the envelope, going to her desk and sitting heavily in her seat. Taking a deep breath, she opened the envelope and stared as dozens of large glossy photos spilled out across her desk. Forcing herself to pick them up she quickly flipped through them, her breath hitching at the implications of these photos. They had been taken over the last few weeks. There were a lot of close ups of her and Booth, even some with Parker. She shuddered at the thought of that horrid man even knowing about Parker's existence, but her blood ran cold as she looked at the photos she wasn't in.

They were of her family. Angela and Hodgins, laughing as they left work, hand in hand, coming and going from his home, there were even a couple of them inside the house, obviously taken from outside. Her father as he went about his everyday life. Cam and Michelle, grinning at each other as they exited a theater, shots of them entering and leaving Cam's apartment. There were photos of Daniel in various situations. Her breath caught as she got to the ones of Russ, Amy and the girls, fury filling her at the thought of that sick bastard even looking at her nieces. She knew exactly what he was telling her with these pictures. _I know where they live, where they work. I can get to them anytime, anyplace. _ As awful as this was, it didn't account for Alex's fury. They were all furious, she realized, glancing at each man in turn, they were just hiding it better than Alex. Standing, she went to the still pacing man, placing herself in his path and looking at him levelly when he stopped and met her eyes.

"Alex, your anger is disproportionate to those photos. What else is there?" Alex had to grin at her reasoning process, but she was right. There was more. Reaching inside his coat, he pulled out a small stack of photos and a note that he had removed from the packet, not sure she needed to see them. Nathaniel had determined that she did, but Alex was still reluctant to hand them over.

"This was in the packet, too," he handed her the note, seeing her eyes widen as she read it. It was as follows:

Temperence,

I find Nathaniel's attempts to keep me away from you laughable. I thought these photos might make it easier for you to make a decision. I really do have your best interests at heart, my dear, but, alas, I find your city boring and long to return to my own country. Therefore, I must move up my deadline and ask for your decision by 1 PM today and have provided an adequate incentive. You are brilliant, Temperence, and I have no doubt you will be able to figure out the incentive, but these photos should be a good clue. And, Temperence, don't keep me waiting. You won't like the consequences.

The note was unsigned, but, then again, it really didn't need to be. As far as she knew she only had one psycho after her at the present time. Brennan knew he wanted to scare her and he had succeeded only too well. She was terrified for the safety of her family, the people she loved, but she wasn't cowed. Stiffening her spine, she reached for the photos in Alex's hand, tugging hard when he tried to pull them back at the last second. She immediately knew why he didn't want her to see them. At her first glimpse, she felt all the blood drain from her face and her knees buckled. Nathaniel caught her before she hit the floor, carrying her to the sofa and gently lowering her to its soft surface. He sat on the table facing her and tried to remove the pictures from her hands but she refused to let them go.

"Oh, God," she whispered, looking at Nathaniel and Alex, who had come to sit beside her, "How?" she demanded of them. "How did he find them? Are they safe?" Noting the rising hysteria in her voice, Nathaniel took her hands in both of his. He hated telling her this more than almost anything he had ever been forced to do, but he couldn't keep this from her, she would never forgive him if he did.

"They're missing, Brennan," he said quietly.

"Oh, God," she moaned, covering her face with her hands, rocking back and forth. "He has them, doesn't he?" she demanded through her hands.

"We think so," answered Alex quietly, startled when Brennan shot up from the couch, pushed past Nathaniel and strode for the door.

"Whoa," Nathaniel caught her arm, pulling her to a halt, "Where do you think you're going?" She jerked her arm but he wouldn't release her.

"I'm going to see General Hood, Nathaniel. Now, let me go." She demanded, not even realizing tears were running down her face.

"No," he refused calmly, "Red that is exactly what he wants you to do and you are not offering yourself up as bait for that sick freak," There was steel running through his voice, but it didn't sway her. She knew he didn't want her to be in danger, but she really didn't have a choice any longer, as far as she was concerned. She would not trade her life for the lives of two little girls; he couldn't expect that of her, no one could.

"We need Booth," Max said quietly. Heaving a frustrated sigh, Nathaniel answered him, never taking his eyes off Brennan's face.

"I tried to call him, but he must be inside the courtroom and I've already sent Gavin after him."

"Nathaniel, that monster has Jennifer and Chloe. I can't imagine what they're going through, but I can end this and you can't stop me. Now, please let me go." She sobbed.

"I'm sorry, Red, but I can't do that. If he already has the girls, you going to Hood isn't going to make a difference, not now." He spoke gently, but she heard that he thought the girls were already dead in the anguish in his voice and she broke, bowing her head and openly sobbing. Nathaniel pulled her into his arms, giving her what comfort he could, wondering where the hell Gavin was with Booth. He needed to be out there hunting this bastard down but he wasn't about to leave this woman unprotected and weeping in anguish. Waving everyone but Alex out of the room, he pulled Brennan back to the sofa, gently sitting her down. She sat between him and Alex, clasping one hand of each man as her tears slowed and finally dried.

"I want him dead, Nathaniel," she whispered huskily. Actually, she wanted to kill him herself, but she would settle for him just being dead. Nathaniel and Alex both nodded their heads, squeezing her hands in a promise that Rodrigo wouldn't be walking away from this. "I have to agree to help Hood, Nathaniel. If I don't, he'll just hurt more people that I care about of take me to Perez himself. You know he will, Alex," she told him as he started to object. As much as Alex hated to admit it, she was right. Rodrigo was twisted enough to not be scared of getting caught or much of anything else, the only thing he cared about was his own personal comfort and pleasure. Nathaniel also had to agree with her assessment of the situation, but he wasn't ready to blindly place her in someone else's hands, not yet. With a sigh and another squeeze of her hand, he offered a compromise.

"We still have five hours until his deadline, Red. Give us three hours to find him or come up with something else, then we'll talk about it again. Please?" She finally nodded and he relaxed, knowing Booth would kill him for that little bargain, but he was also beginning to think they weren't going to have a choice and he would deal with the irate FBI man when he had to. Gently releasing her hand, he stood and motioned to Alex to do the same thing.

"I need to make some calls and get some things set up. Will you be ok in here by yourself or do you want to stay with us?" Brennan had to smile at the care and concern these men who were trained to kill were showing her.

"I'll be fine, Nathaniel. I just need a few minutes alone then I'm going to see Angela or work in Limbo." Nodding, the men left the room. Brennan picked up the pictures that had finally broken her, slowly going through them, her heart breaking at the thought of the two laughing little girls in the clutches of a monster, unable to even think they were already dead. Holding the pictures to her chest in a tight embrace, she allowed the tears to come.

Twenty minutes later, Booth hurriedly entered the lab, followed closely by Gavin. Booth was absolutely furious with himself for leaving Brennan and going to court today. He had known better, but let himself be talked into it against his better judgment. The defense attorney had been determined to discredit his testimony and appeared to want to keep him on the stand all day.

Although, they were well within the two hours he had promised Caroline, he had felt a sudden compulsion to get back to Brennan, a burning knot in his belly telling him that she needed him. Glancing at his watch, he had looked at Caroline meaningfully, but she had shrugged, she couldn't just interrupt the other attorney so Booth could dash out and check on Brennan, her look told him. When he had seen Gavin slip into the gallery and noted the look on the young man's face, he had called a halt to the proceedings himself, citing urgent FBI business to a frowning judge and protesting defense council. The judge had finally waved him off and rescheduled, but it wouldn't have mattered. Booth was leaving that courtroom immediately. He had been less than pleased with Gavin's news, especially when he refused to explain about the two little girls they suspected were now in the hands of a known pedophile. His gut rolled in revulsion and horror at what that madman could be putting them through, but his compulsion to get to Brennan was getting stronger by the second.

"Where is she?" he yelled as Nathaniel's head came up at his entrance. Pointing toward her office, Nathaniel went back to whatever he was doing and Booth raced across the floor, entering Brennan's office at a run. Seconds later, heads came up all over the lab and four soldiers took off at a run at the roar of fury and anguish that was emanating from Brennan's office. They skidded to a stop in front of her desk, seeing that Booth had dropped into her chair and was clutching a piece of paper in his hand. Reaching out, Alex gingerly reached out, plucking the paper from Booth's hand and smoothing it out so they could read it.

Booth,

I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. I love you.

Brennan

"She's gone," whispered Booth, raising pain filled eyes to the four gaping men.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello, everyone. I just can't seem to stay away. Please show your appreciation with reviews.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

"She's gone," Booth roared, coming out of his chair so fast it slammed into the wall of the office, but he didn't notice. His full fury was focused on one man, the man he had mistakenly trusted to keep Brennan safe. He had Nathaniel pushed against the wall, his hands around his throat before he even realized what he was doing. Nathaniel didn't try to fight back and motioned his men back. Booth wasn't really trying to hurt him, he was just releasing anger and Nathaniel felt he deserved it. "How the hell did she just walk out of here with a god damned Special Forces unit watching her?" he yelled directly into Nathaniel's face.

"Booth, let him go," Max said softly from beside him. "If she really is gone, you two need to be working together not fighting." Giving Nathaniel a scathing look of disgust, Booth released him and turned on Max.

"What do you mean, if she's really gone? Look at the damned note, Max. She's gone." Booth ran an agitated hand through his hair. _Where the hell was she and why had she left? She had freaking promised him to stay put._ That thought brought him up short, she would not have broken her promise lightly. Angela stepped gingerly into the room, the overt hostility emanating from Booth making the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

"Booth, she promised to give us three hours to come up with something. We never expected her to just walk out of here." Alex told Booth quietly cursing himself for not anticipating this move, but it just didn't make any sense.

"She wouldn't just leave unless something happened," said Nathaniel and Booth had to agree. It would take something big to make her ditch her boys and just walk out.

"Would you people relax?" Angela's laughing voice drew every eye in the room.

"Angela, do you know where Bones is?" demanded Booth, striding over and gripping her arms.

"Calm down, Booth," she encouraged, pulling away from his almost painful grip. "All the testosterone floating around here was getting to her and she went to meet some friends downstairs." Patting his arm, she was very surprised to feel it tense even further.

"When did she leave, Angela?" he hissed through gritted teeth. Angela was starting to get a little perturbed at his attitude but she answered him anyway.

"About 15 minutes ago, I guess," she shrugged. She thought they were completely overreacting and was about to stalk out of the room in displeasure when Nathaniel caught her arm, swinging her around for his own questions.

"How did she get out of here without us seeing her?" The quietness in his voice sent a little shiver of fear down Angela's spine. He was seriously pissed and she suddenly didn't want to share. Eyeing him warily, she backed toward the door until she bumped into Hodgins who had come running along with most everyone in the lab at Booth's shouts. He had been quietly observing the proceedings, ready to step in if Angela needed him, and he could tell Angela had no intention of implicating herself to the hard eyed furious men.

"There's a maintenance tunnel access in one of the storage rooms that leads to a couple of different levels." Hodgins informed them quietly, easily seeing by their reaction that this was serious. "Ange, did you help her sneak out?" Hodgins demanded. Angela glared at him, but did deign to answer.

"Well, yeah, Hodgins. She said she needed a break and some out of town friends wanted her to meet them downstairs and Nathaniel wouldn't let her go." Angela glared at the man in question.

"She lied to you, Ange," Booth said quietly. Angela snorted.

"She wouldn't do that, Booth. Bren doesn't lie and she can't even tell a lie without giving herself away." Angela felt a quiver of unease when she heard four snorts almost in unison.

"Trust me, Red can lie with the best of them when she wants to," Garrett threw out. Angela wanted to snort in disbelief but the scene with Max was suddenly replaying in her head and her unease increased dramatically.

"She said some guy was stalking her and you were all just getting overprotective. Is that true?" Angela whispered, looking to Booth for confirmation. Booth could only shake his head at Brennan's ingenuity. Because Rodrigo's behavior could certainly be classified as stalking, it was technically not a lie, but it sure as hell wasn't the truth either.

"Yeah, Ange, it's true, but what she didn't tell you is the guy stalking her wants to take her to Nicaragua and turn her over to a psychopath who will take great pleasure in torturing then killing her." Booth knew he was being blunt, but Angela need to know what she had done. She went totally white, her hands flying to her mouth to cover a gasp, her eyes wide with horror.

"Oh my God, Booth. I'm so sorry."

"Damn," Booth's attention was drawn away from Angela to Gavin who had seated himself at Brennan's desk, his hands flying across the keyboard.

"What?" snapped Nathaniel.

"I can't get satellite feed on this computer. I need a bigger system, but she got a call on her cell phone 23 minutes ago."

"Can you trace it?" asked Booth hopefully but Gavin shook his head.

"No, it was from a disposable cell phone. No way to trace those. All I need to find her is a bigger operating system." He repeated looking toward Hodgins.

"Yeah, sure, man, I can help you out with that." he said quietly turning toward the door, with everyone except Angela, Booth and Nathaniel behind him.

"Angela, did Bones say anything else," asked Booth, his gut clenched in a knot that refused to loosen. The upset artist thought for a long minute then shook her head.

"Did she happen to mention the names of the friends she was supposed to meet?" asked Nathaniel, an awful idea coming to the forefront of his mind.

"I think so but what does it matter if she was lying? Besides, I don't really remember." Stepping closer, Nathaniel's hands closed into fists to keep himself from grabbing her and scaring the crap out of the already frightened woman.

"Please think hard, Angela. This could really be important." He made his voice as soft and soothing as possible considering he wanted to yell out his fury at Brennan's actions and his fear for her safety.

"Okay, I think their names were Jane and the other one started with a C, I think."

"Jennifer and Chloe?"

"Yeah, but why did you ask me if you already knew?"

"Son of a bitch. Rodrigo is the one who called her," he snapped at Booth leaving the room at a run with Booth on his heels.

"Gavin," he yelled, "do you have a location?"

"Satellite's triangulating, so I just have a general area, but she's definitely not in this building. It should only take a couple of minutes to pinpoint her exact location." Hodgins, being the genius he was, quickly figured out what Gavin was doing.

"You _lojacked _her?" Hodgins demanded, appalled at the very thought.

"Hell, yeah, we lojacked her," snapped one of the twins, unapologetically. "If you people haven't noticed, wherever she goes, troubles not far behind."

"And she never stays where you put her," added Alex defensively.

"Got it," said Gavin in satisfaction just as Booth and Nathaniel ran up.

"How do we know that's her real location?" questioned Booth. "If Rodrigo has her, you can be sure he'll ditch her cell phone so you can't track her with it and she's not answering her phone." Booth's hands fisted at his sides, having trouble controlling his fury at the thought of that slimy bastard anywhere near his wife and his fear that she could already be hurt or even on her way to be handed over to Perez.

"We're not tracking her cell phone, Booth," Nathaniel assured him. "She will be at whatever location we get." The confidence in the younger man's voice told Booth and Hodgins the tracker was actually on Brennan's body.

"Does she know you tagged her?" Hodgins demanded, all his old conspiracy theories shooting to the forefront of his mind. No one answered him, but from the uncomfortable looks on four faces, Booth was guessing no. Right now, he really didn't care as long as it helped them find her.

"Are you sure this is right?" Nathaniel asked Gavin who simply gave him an Oh, please look. Turning to Booth, he shared.

"She's headed for the Pentagon." That made no sense whatsoever to Booth, but he was more than willing to check it out, already headed for the door at a run, with the four soldiers right behind him.

"Dad, call Hood and fill him in. Tell him to be on the lookout for Red and Rodrigo," Nathaniel yelled, out the door before Daniel could answer him. Female heads turned and hearts fluttered as the five men raced to save the woman they all loved.

Brennan sat in her office, her heart aching, her sorrow almost overwhelming. She had made a promise to Chloe and Jennifer and now she had failed them, just as she had failed so many others. She didn't even try to stop her tears, those little girls deserved to be grieved over and no matter how much her heart didn't want to hear it, her oh, so logical brain was telling her that if Rodrigo did, indeed, have them, it was unlikely she would ever see them again. She was so lost in her grief, she almost didn't answer her phone, but her sense of responsibility wouldn't allow her to ignore it for long. Taking a deep breath and wiping the tears from her face, she flipped the phone open without checking the caller ID.

"Brennan," her voice was husky from her tears and she cleared her throat, almost drowning out the response.

"Bren, I'm scared," whimpered a voice she had been terrified she would never hear again. Brennan silently sent up a thank you to Booth's God, the tears running down her face now ones of relief and joy.

"Jennifer, are you all right?" Her only response was sniffling.

"JJ, Sweetheart, I need you to talk to me. Where are you? Is Chloe with you? Come on, Sweetie, just talk to me." Brennan pleaded, desperate to get some information on their condition and whereabouts. Jumping to her feet, she headed to the door of her office to let Nathaniel and the others know the girls were alive, but was stopped in her tracks when another voice came on the line.

"Temperence, rest assured that they are fine," Rodrigo assured her smoothly. "For the moment," Brennan's blood ran cold at his implication.

"What do you want?" she spat, her fury at this man and the wanton pain and destruction he caused almost overwhelming.

"I thought I had already made my wishes clear, my dear, and I have grown weary of waiting on you to come to the right decision, but just so there is no misunderstanding, I would be happy to repeat myself. I want you to help General Hood eliminate Manuel. Come now, Temperence," he laughed at her silence, "I'm quite sure you don't have any tender feelings toward the man." Since she shuddered at the man's name, he was right about that. Fighting to control her fury, disgust and fear, she finally managed to answer him.

"Why did you take the girls?" she demanded, but she already knew. To force her compliance with his little game. They were nothing more to him than pawns, he wouldn't hesitate to use them and then kill them.

"Temperence, you're a genius," he chided, "I'm sure I don't have to explain my reasoning to you." She wasn't really interest in his twisted reasons for doing anything, she was just buying time to think of the best way to rescue the girls.

"You hand the girls over to me, first." Her jaw was clenched so tightly she was barely able to force the words out.

"Of course, my dear," he agreed smoothly. Brennan was so surprised at his quick agreement that she was momentarily at a loss, but hearing one of the girls whimper brought her fury rushing forward.

"If you lay a hand on them, you sick son of a bitch, I will kill you myself," She could tell he was shocked by the threat, but she meant every word of it.

"You know, I actually believe you. But we digress. I agree to your conditions, but I have some conditions of my own. Since I have no desire to be used for target practice by Nathaniel and his little band of thugs," Brennan's teeth gritted at this horrible man's description of good, honorable men, something he knew nothing about. "I must insist that you ditch your protectors and go to the General immediately. Of course, if you feel the need to try and devise a plan to trap me, that is your prerogative. But that will just give me more time to get reacquainted with these beautiful girls." Brennan shuddered, wanting to throw up at his veiled threat.

"No," her voice was level, "I'll leave right now, but you bring the girls to me at the Pentagon."

"Agreed," he drawled.

"How do I know I can trust you?" She knew for a fact he wasn't trustworthy.

"Ah, Temperence, I do so enjoy our little chats," he laughed, "Of course, you can't trust me but you can trust that I want Manuel out of the way and you are the only way that is going to happen. By the way, my dear, I would prefer that no one else attend out little meeting, so, I'm afraid if you insist on bringing guests, I'll just have to keep the girls and find another way to get what I want."

"Fine," she snapped, her loathing for this man growing by leaps and bounds, "Now I want to talk to the girls."

"Of course," he agreed blandly, a soft voice full of tears coming on seconds later.

"JJ are you and Chloe all right?" she gently asked the frightened child.

"The bad man is here, Bren," she whispered, her voice quivering with fear and Brennan felt the tears flow.

"I know, Sweetheart, but he's going to bring you to me. Try not to be scared and I'll see you soon."

"Promise?" The hope in that tortured whisper almost broke her.

"Yes, Sweetheart, I promise." She managed to stifle her sobs long enough to reassure the frightened child, but couldn't hold them back at her next words. "I love you, Bren. Please hurry."

"I love you and Chloe both, JJ and I will hurry. I promise."

"How touching," drawled a voice Brennan was quickly coming to hate above all others. "These lovely young ladies and I will be waiting for you, Temperence. I suggest you hurry." Before she could threaten him again, he hung up.

Sinking back down on the sofa, Brennan desperately tried to get herself under control. She had to get out of the lab, but how? There was no way Nathaniel or any of the others would let her just walk out of here and she couldn't tell them about her conversation with Rodrigo. Picking up her phone, she hit speed dial #1. Booth would know what to do. Belatedly remembering he was in court when his voice mail picked up, she hung up without leaving a message. _What was she going to do?_

Suddenly, her spine stiffened and her tears dried up. She was going to do whatever she had to do to get those wonderful little girls away from that sick, twisted man. She was already responsible for the deaths of their entire family and them suffering horrors no child should ever have to even know existed, much less experience. She would not let them down. With the glimmer of an idea, she dried her cheeks, straightened her clothes, and headed to Angela's office with a determined stride, fully prepared to lie to her best friend if necessary.

As they reached the parking garage, Booth noticed that Max was puffing along behind them, valiantly trying to keep up with the much younger men. Booth pulled out his keys as he headed toward his vehicle, Max right behind him. Unlocking the SUV, Booth looked across the roof at his father in law.

"Max, maybe you should stay here," he urged, knowing it was no use even before the same stubborn look he often saw on Brennan's face settled on Max's.

"She's my daughter, Booth." He said simply. Booth didn't have the time or the heart to argue.

"Fine, get in."

"Alex, you're with them," Nathaniel shouted as the other three thundered past to their own SUV. Alex hopped in the back seat just as Booth turned the ignition, peeling out of the parking garage and turning onto the street without waiting on the other vehicle to catch up, lights flashing and siren blasting.

"Are you armed?" Of course, he was armed; he was a freaking FBI agent. Booth glanced at Alex in disbelief until he realized the soldier was talking to Max. Max glanced at Booth a little worriedly before nodding. _Damn, he wasn't going to ask any questions,_ Booth decided, _he didn't need to know_. Alex's phone rang and Booth listened intently to his side of the conversation, hoping it was news about Bones, but unable to tell from the man's laconic responses to whomever was on the other side of the phone. Hanging up, Alex leaned forward between the seats with a puzzled look on his face.

"That was Nathaniel. I don't really have any details but, apparently, General Hood was already expecting Red. He already has men posted to watch for her but she hasn't been spotted yet. No sign of Rodrigo either. Does any of this make sense to you, Booth?" Booth shook his head, he had absolutely no idea what was going on, but then he frequently didn't where his wife was concerned, especially about what went on in that big brain of hers, but she would certainly be explaining herself on this one, he told himself grimly, refusing to consider any other outcome.

Booth noted the other SUV quickly catching up to them and was impressed with the driver's skill until they got close enough for him to see Nathaniel was driving. He was still a little too pissed at him for losing his Bones to admire anything about him right now. He knew he wasn't being fair, but to hell with fair. His wife was out there with a psycho threatening to kidnap her and turn her over to a killer, so he wasn't feeling real fair right now. The rest of the journey was made in silence, until Booth's phone rang just as they were turning into the parking area for the Pentagon. Not bothering to check the caller ID, he flipped it open.

"Booth," he barked, slamming on the brakes so fast Nathaniel almost rear ended him when he heard the voice on the other end.

"_Where the hell are you?_" he yelled, telling Alex and Max that Brennan had finally contacted them. Noting Booth's tightened jaw and clenched teeth, they didn't ask any questions as he listened intently for several seconds.

"Are you all right?" he demanded, no longer yelling but obviously still angry. Booth snorted and Max turned away to hide a grin, willing to bet his daughter had just told her partner that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Alex laughed aloud as the same thought ran through his mind, extremely glad that Brennan was safe but not sure how long that was going to remain true when her furious husband got his hands on her.

"Fine," Booth snapped. "Yes, the boys are with me and your dad." If he hadn't been so pissed, he would have grinned at her lecture over dragging her father into dangerous situations. "Yeah, I know. Yes, we just got here. Yes. I love you, too, Baby," his voice was soft by the end of the conversation. With a long suffering sigh, he pulled into a parking space, quickly exiting the vehicle.

"She's fine," he told the group in general, noting they all sagged a little in relief. "She's with General Hood and he is requesting that we join them." Judging from the frowns and groans, they were as thrilled with the order as he was and he certainly didn't mistake it for anything other than an order. _Damn_, he thought, as they made their way into the Pentagon after stowing their weapons_, it was almost emasculating to ride to the rescue of the damsel in distress and have the damsel rescue herself, but she wouldn't be the woman he loved if she didn't surprise him on a regular basis. _ Plus, he was relatively certain she would be neck deep in trouble again soon, giving him a chance to be the big, strong hero and ride to the rescue. His chance came much sooner than he would have ever dreamed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi, guys. Hope you enjoy this chapter and remember the way this works. Please review. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, but they would be much happier with me than with FOX.**

Booth was sure he had himself under control as they were met in the lobby and escorted to General Hood's office. His certainty lasted until they were shown into the office and he saw his wife standing at the window, gazing out, unaware of their arrival. His fury at her actions and the fear he had felt for her combined and boiled to the surface. He strode toward her intending to greet her and pull her somewhere for a private little chat. That's not quite how it happened, however. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gently spun her around.

"_What the hell were you thinking_?" he yelled directly into her surprised face, surprised at his own actions, yet unable to stop them. Clasping both of her upper arms with every intention of shaking some sense into her, he instead jerked her against him, his arms closing around her stiff form almost bruisingly and buried his face in her hair, almost shaking with relief at finding her whole and safe. She instantly melted against him, her arms stealing around his waist and squeezing tightly, calming him in the way only she could.

"I'm sorry I broke my promise, Booth, but I had no choice. He had Jennifer and Chloe and said he would give them back if I agreed to help General Hood." She told her husband soothingly, stroking his back gently. She had known he would be angry but felt she had done the only thing she could. She knew Booth would have done the same thing and was confident he would get over his anger when she explained. Her words and hands soothed him, but they also recalled his attention to where they were and he pulled away from her slightly to look around at the room full of smiling men a little sheepishly.

"We will talk about this later." He told his wife before reluctantly releasing her and turning to the man in the military uniform coming toward him with an outstretched hand. Brennan snorted, she had no doubt they would discuss this to death. Booth had the ridiculous need to lecture her on what he considered her reckless behavior until she felt the need to scream.

"Agent Booth, I'm General Hood," the older man introduced himself, "Dr. Brennan has told me a little about you, but Daniel had already filled me in." Booth almost flinched, unsure if what Daniel would have to say about him would be good or bad. Turning to the other men, Hood approached Nathaniel, giving him a warm, genuine smile. "Nathaniel, it's good to see you again, son." Turning to each man in turn, he shook their hands and introduced himself to an uncomfortable Max. Gesturing for them to take seats, he seated himself behind his desk, a knock on his door interrupting him before he could speak. Calling out his permission to enter, he frowned as a young woman in uniform entered the room, standing at attention.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Sir, but the young ladies are asking for Dr. Brennan. Rather insistently, actually." Brennan was on her feet instantly, headed for the door but was stopped by Hood's voice.

"Bring them in, Lieutenant." Seconds later, two little girls came rushing through the door, stopping just inside the room to stare at the room full of men. They were very petite, black hair, brown eyes, their features denoting their heritage as non Caucasian. The younger one, who appeared to be about 7 or 8 years old, spotted Brennan and rushed over, quickly crawling into her lap and burying her face in Brennan's shoulder. Noting the way Brennan pulled the child to her tightly, her arms closing protectively around the little girl, Booth knew this child was important to his wife. He just didn't know why. The other little girl appeared to be 10 or 11 years old. She looked a little disgruntled that Brennan's lap was taken until her eyes turned to the four soldiers, then she squealed, making such a sound of happy, childlike delight that every adult in the room smiled.

"Nate, Alex, GG," she squealed, running across the room and throwing herself into Alex's open arms. "Damn, it's good to see you, boys," she said happily, hugging each man in turn. Booth almost choked, hearing those words come out of the mouth of that petite little girl. The boys snorted with laughter and Brennan glared her displeasure.

"Jennifer," she said firmly, "that's not a nice word. You know better than to use it." Booth almost laughed as brown eyes dropped and a little bottom lip curled in a pout.

"Yes, maam," she acknowledged, "but my dad says it all the time," she informed Brennan with a sly grin. The boys burst into laughter, not helping the situation and Brennan rolled her eyes, muttering she just bet he did under her breath.

Booth's attention went back to his wife and the tender way she stroked the hair of the little girl in her lap, rubbing her back soothingly at the same time. As Booth watched the little girls eyes drift close and her relax in sleep, he couldn't believe Brennan had ever doubted her ability to relate to children. She obviously loved these little girls as they did her. Parker absolutely adored her as she did him. Booth had thought they would eventually have at least one child together, but hadn't really been in any hurry. Seeing her with this little girl suddenly made him want that to happen very soon. He couldn't imagine a better mother than the woman at his side.

Hearing Jennifer's chatter stop, Brennan looked over to see that she had settled against Nathaniel's shoulder and was sound asleep, just like her sister. Smiling softly, she caught Booth's eyes and was stunned by the look of longing in the brown depths as he looked at her and Chloe. Looked like they had something else to talk about later. Giving him a dazzling smile, she turned to the General.

"General, I know your time is valuable, but I don't want the girls where they might overhear what we have to discuss." The General had no intention of discussing anything with the children in the room, but knew Brennan well enough not to take her words as a criticism.

"Certainly, Dr. Brennan. Lieutenant Shelby can show you to a playroom with cots for them to take a nap." Brennan and Nathaniel stood with the sleeping children in their arms. Brennan looked around the room biting her lip wanting to be in on the discussion but not wanting to leave the girls to wake up alone or with strangers in uniform. It might frighten them. Max came to her rescue. He was beyond uncomfortable in a room full of the law and order types and seriously doubted he had any place in the coming discussion.

"Honey, why don't I go sit with the girls while you people have your discussion?" Brennan flashed him a smile of gratitude that warmed his heart. She knew he was very good with children and the girls would be safe with him. Nodding her agreement, the three left the room, Brennan and Nathaniel returning several minutes later.

"Why did you take off like that, Red?" Nathaniel demanded as soon as they were reseated.

"Rodrigo called me and threatened to hurt the girls if I didn't come to General Hood immediately and alone. He said if I complied with his request, he would return them unharmed. I didn't have a choice, Booth." Nathaniel had asked the question but she was explaining to her husband. Booth found himself touched by that and nodded his understanding.

"You could have told us," Nathaniel insisted. Brennan snorted.

"And I'm sure you would have agreed with the plan, Nathaniel," her voice said she knew just the opposite. Nathaniel tried to look stern but his lips twitched, she had him there.

"He could have been waiting to snatch you. Then he would have had you and the girls," Alex scolded.

"I did think about that, Alex," Brennan admitted, "But I called General Hood and explained the situation. We decided that I would drive directly to the front doors and be met by guards which would significantly reduce his access to me." The look she gave Alex reminded him that she was not stupid and he had to grin in return. Booth sat back, shaking his head. As far as he could tell, she led this group around by the nose, he hated to think what she had put them through over the last three years.

"What did Rodrigo say to you when he handed over the girls?" Booth asked, but Brennan shook her head.

"I never saw him, Booth. When I got here, Jennifer and Chloe were already here." She explained.

"They were dropped off just outside the front gate, only minutes before Dr. Brennan's arrival," Hood explained, taking control of the conversation. "Rodrigo was already on a plane back to Nicaragua by the time they were dropped off, the purpose of his visit fulfilled."

"What exactly was the purpose of his visit?" questioned Garrett. Oh, he knew the man wanted Brennan to cooperate with Hood but the whole thing seemed a little much just to make her participate in an operation to take out Perez unless there was something personal in it for Rodrigo.

"He wants Perez out of the way so he can take over the whole operation," Hood informed them quietly.

"He wanted to piss Bones, to piss all of you off enough to make sure you would go back to Nicaragua," Booth was thinking aloud, but, since Rodrigo hadn't actually hurt the girl's, that was the only thing that made sense of their kidnapping. Hood nodded, his eyes moving over the group before him.

"Did he?" he asked. Six heads nodded in unison and Hood allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction. "Good. Nathaniel, I have already requested your unit be assigned to this operation." Nathaniel nodded and Hood turned to Booth. "Agent Booth, I assumed you would wish to accompany your wife and have taken the liberty of having you temporarily assigned as a liaison to the Pentagon. I understand you have some skills that might be useful on this mission." Brennan's hand had found its way into Booths and she squeezed tightly in support, knowing how much he hated what he had done as a sniper. Turning to him, she gave him an out, knowing in her heart he wouldn't take it.

"Booth, you don't have to do this," He smiled softly at her, loving her more than he'd ever thought possible for her concern and her trying to protect him. He was, surprisingly, ok with being asked to do this. These men had caused enough people pain, cost enough lives. They needed to be stopped and he was only too happy to help. Besides, she wasn't going anywhere without him.

"Yeah, I do, Bones. You were right, they need to be stopped," His relaxed posture and smile told Brennan he was all right with what was being requested of him and she, in turn, relaxed.

"What about Rodrigo?" she demanded of Hood. The General gazed at her consideringly for several seconds before sitting back in his chair with a sigh, resting his elbows on the arms of his chair and steepling his hands under his chin.

"Dr. Brennan, as I'm sure you're aware, Rodrigo has diplomatic immunity as well as the protection of the CIA. However," he continued quickly, avoiding the furious objections about to erupt from several people in the room, "that is only in the United States. If he were to meet with an unfortunate accident in his own country, that would be a real shame but no laws would be violated." Booth was really beginning to like Hood. The man had just told them to take out Rodrigo so unsubtly that even Brennan got it. "As a bonus, the general consensus is that if Perez is gone and Rodrigo is unable to step into his place the whole structure of their organization is so weak it would collapse in upon itself." Booth nodded, liking that taking the two men, who absolutely deserved it, out would also put an entire drug network out of commission.

"What's the plan?" he asked. The General eyed Booth, certain he wasn't going to like "the plan".

"We had basically planned a repeat of two years ago…," Hood was interrupted by shouts of "NO!" from every other male in the room and held up his hands in supplication. "However, since the parameters of the mission, as well as the players have changed, it will require a few adjustments. You, gentlemen and Dr. Brennan, should all get some rest. You will be briefed at 0800 in the morning and should expect to depart for Nicaragua within the next 48 hours." Hood was used to being obeyed and was a little surprised when no one moved to vacate his office. He was even more surprised when Booth moved to his desk, placing his palms flat on its surface and leaning toward him.

"Just so you know, Sir, she," he jerked his head toward the still seated Brennan, "goes nowhere until I'm satisfied that your plan won't place her in undue danger." Hood's eyebrow rose, unused to being challenged. Glancing around the room, he noted four men with arms crossed over their chests, nodding their agreement to Booth's statement and Brennan rolling her eyes at the men's theatrics. Inwardly chuckling, Hood turned his attention back to Booth.

"Understood, Agent Booth," acknowledged Hood with a twinkle in his eye. Searching the other man's face for any sign of deception, Booth finally decided the man was being honest with him. Straightening, he turned and held out his hand to Brennan who stood and took it.

"By the way, Agent Booth, I understand your marriage is fairly recent. Congratulations to you both."

"Booth, is there something you forgot to tell me?" Max asked quietly from the open door, where he was bringing the girls who had woken from their naps demanding Brennan and the boys, back into the room.

Booth's eyes closed briefly at Max's quiet question, but before he could turn to face his father in law, Brennan jerked on his arm, drawing his attention.

"Maybe we should just yell it from the treetops," she whispered loudly enough that everyone in the room heard her. Everyone but Booth looked at her in confusion.

"It's shout it from the rooftops, Baby, and I don't think we even have to do that. Someone else already did it for us," he told her softly, shooting a disgruntled look at Hood who couldn't hold back his laughter. _Damn, he hadn't been this entertained in a long time_, thought the General. Turning to face Max, Booth saw he wasn't nearly as amused as the General.

"Max, can we talk about this later?" he requested.

"Sure, Booth," Max replied easily, his look telling Booth they would be talking about a lot of things later. Looking toward his daughter, Max smiled, "These two are asking about their parents and I didn't know what to tell them." He moved aside as the two little girls ran to Brennan who squatted down to their level.

"Your Mom and Dad are on their way, but you get to go home with me until they get here. Okay?" Both girls nodded, each taking one of her hands possessively and glancing at Booth, noting how close he was standing to Brennan.

"Who's he?" demanded Jennifer suspiciously.

"This is my husband, Booth," Brennan told them with a reassuring smile. Chloe leaned closer to whisper in Brennan's ear.

"Is he nice?" Brennan hugged the little girl to her.

"Yes, Chloe, he's very nice." She glanced up at him shyly but Jennifer gave him a definite we'll see look and Booth had to grin, liking the attitude the older girl was giving him. It reminded him of Bones, he would be willing to bet she had been very much like that as a little girl. Squatting down beside Brennan, Booth held out his hand to Chloe.

"Hi, Chloe," she hid her face against Brennan's shoulder, glancing at him shyly, finally reaching out and placing her hand in his and giving him a gap toothed smile. Turning toward Jennifer, he again extended his hand. "Hello, Jennifer," she studied him closely, finally deigning to shake his hand, then leaned into Brennan.

"Is he going with us?" Her voice said she wasn't thrilled with the idea. Before Brennan could answer, Jennifer was being picked up from behind.

"Behave yourself, squirt," Alex ordered the squealing, squirming girl. Giggling, she turned to face Alex, "Ok, Alex," she told him cheerfully, but his eyes narrowed, her tone telling him she had no intention of following orders. Booth bet this one was a real handful.

"We should get going," he suggested. They had a lot to do if they were going to Nicaragua in 48 hours. Plus, he had a father in law to placate. _Oh, joy_.

Hood watched the group troop from the room, his smile fading as he thought of what this group would be asked to do over the next few days. He just hoped they all came back in one piece. Sighing, he picked up his phone to let the powers that be know about the change in status for the mission.

As Booth pulled up to their apartment building, he wasn't particularly surprised or thrilled to see the other SUV park directly behind them. Max had opted to return to the Jeffersonian and fill Daniel in on what had transpired at the Pentagon, telling Booth firmly that he would see him tomorrow. Booth couldn't tell if Max was pissed or just irritated but wouldn't blame him for either reaction, they should have told him they were married and he would just have to face the consequences now. He just hoped Max would stick with yelling, he didn't think Brennan would appreciate him getting physical with her father. With a sigh of resignation, he opened his door and exited the vehicle, knowing his day wouldn't be over anytime soon.

By 9 PM when Booth firmly shut and locked the door after Brennan's "boys" as he had begun to think of them, he was exhausted. Turning back to the apartment, he noted Brennan had collapsed on the couch, lying back with her eyes closed, denoting her exhaustion. He briefly considered just carrying her to bed, but decided they needed to talk and didn't have a lot of time so it really had to be now. Walking to the sofa, he seated himself and flopped back beside her. Opening her eyes, she turned just her head to look at him.

"You're wondering about Gena, Grant and the girls, aren't you?" Among other things, yes, he was definitely wondering about those four. He was just surprised she realized he would have questions. Booth had quickly realized that Gena and Grant couldn't possibly be Jennifer and Chloe's biological parents when the tall, tanned, blonde couple had shown up to joyfully reunite with their daughters. Taking her hand in his and linking their fingers, he turned to fully face her.

"Yeah, I guess I am wondering about them. Where are Jennifer and Chloe's real parents?" he asked bluntly, regretting the question the instant he saw the pain in her eyes. With a sigh, she straightened, turning to face him and leaned her head on his shoulder, his arm going around her shoulders.

"Jennifer and Chloe are the only two survivors of the settlement where we were captured in Nicaragua," Booth stiffened a little at the news, he hadn't really been expecting that, but Brennan didn't notice his shock and continued the story. "We couldn't just leave them there, Booth." Her voice pleaded for his understanding. "They had no one, they had been severely traumatized and they wouldn't have been safe in their own country. So we reported there were no survivors and brought them home with us." Her voice was no longer asking for understanding, it was simply saying she had done what had to be done, but Booth was in shock that a group of military men and _his Bones_ would sneak around and lie to their superiors. Just went to show they all had a lot heart.

"So how did they wind up with Gena and Grant?" He asked, softly stroking her hair.

"Gena is a child psychologist," Brennan murmured almost under her breath, surprising Booth enough that he pulled back and urged her face up to see her disgruntled expression.

"Bones, I thought you didn't believe in the soft sciences?" he teased and she glared at him.

"I don't, Booth. But, the girls had been through a lot and Daniel highly recommended Gena to work with them. She and Grant both fell in love with them and they wound up adopting them."

"Wait. How can that be legal if you sneaked them into the country illegally?"

"I don't know, Booth. Daniel took care of it and I never asked. The hardest part was convincing Nathaniel that Grant would be able to protect them. He said Grant was a wussie," Brennan declared, proud of herself for remembering the colloquialism. Booth frowned, the guy had been huge. Granted, he had pretty boy surfer looks but was obviously in good shape.

"Let me guess, Grant's not Special Forces?" Brennan shook her head with a teasing grin, obviously wanting Booth to ask what Grant did. With a grin, Booth decided to go along with her. "Ok, I'll bite. What does Grant do? Doctor? Lawyer?" Brennan shook her head, her eyes brimming with laughter.

"Nope. He's a Navy Seal." Booth could only roll his eyes. It was a military thing, each branch thinking theirs was the best and the other elite units simply didn't measure up to their standards. The truth was all the elite groups were the very best of the best.

"Did Rodrigo hurt the girls?" Booth hated to bring back more painful memories for Brennan and God knows he already hated the man enough to kill him without a single twinge of conscience but, for some reason, he needed to know.

"You mean in Nicaragua?" Feeling his nod, she took several seconds to answer. "He didn't molest them if that's what you're asking, but he showed them the bodies of their entire family including their mother and father. Apparently, he enjoys terrorizing children before he molests them." Brennan was having a hard time speaking through the knot of fury in her throat. "Jennifer said he didn't hurt them today. They were just very frightened because they remembered him. Booth, does it make me a bad person to want to kill him myself?"

"No, Baby, that doesn't make you a bad person," he assured her, pulling her into a tight hug. She was one of the best people he had ever known and he didn't ever want her to doubt that and if a man had ever needed killing it was Rodrigo.

"So, how mad do you think your dad is?" Booth's attention was diverted from thinking about Max's wrath as his wife snuggled up to his side, nuzzling her face into his neck, her hands going to the buttons of his shirt.

"I don't know," her hot breath puffed across the skin of his neck just before her tongue darted out to lick the same spot, sending a shiver down his spine and making his pants tighter than was really comfortable. "Do you really care?" she asked as her teeth closed over his earlobe and her hand slipped inside his shirt to lightly caress the sculpted muscles of his chest.

_Did he really care? At the moment, definitely not_. He could barely remember what they were talking about and whatever it was could surely wait, he decided, his hands reaching for Brennan and pushing her down on the couch as he followed her down. Her throaty laughter told him she liked that just as his lips closed over her mouth, nudging her lips apart and slipping his tongue past her teeth to curl around hers. Her gasp told him she liked that and then he was no longer able to catalogue her responses as her hands pulled him down, his naked chest pressed tightly to her still clothed one.

The hunger he always had for his Bones enhanced by the very emotional day they'd had suddenly overwhelmed him and he wanted her naked and writhing beneath him. Now. At the same time, he wanted to make love to her slowly, cherish her and show her how much she meant to him with his body. Trying for a happy medium, he peeled her shirt up her torso and over her head, tossing it aside and returning to her avid mouth. As soon as his chest lowered back to hers, he knew he didn't have a chance of taking it slow, the feel of her pebbled nipples, even covered by her bra, burning into his chest, causing his gut to clench and his groin to tighten even more.

With a growl, he sat up between her thighs, stripping off his shirt, groaning as her hands went to his belt, quickly releasing the clasp and disposing of the fastenings on his pants with lightening efficiency. Pulling her up, Booth reached one hand behind her, expertly flicking open the fastening on her bra and peeling it down her arms, flinging it aside as if it had personally offended him by covering her breasts from his eyes and hands. Spreading a big hand between her shoulder blades, he pulled her closer until her distended nipples were brushing his hard chest causing his own nipples to pebble in response. His hands went to the waistband of her slacks as hers went to his hips, trying to push his slacks and underwear out of the way as her head bent and her tongue swirled over one of his nipples. With a hiss of pleasure, he lowered her back to the couch, capturing her hands in his and drawing them above her head.

"Slow down, Baby," he panted.

"No, I don't want to," her teeth latched onto the spot on his neck that always made his knees buckle. He was a goner and he knew it, willing to give her anything especially what they both desired so desperately.

"Ok," he agreed, wiggling out of his pants and divesting her of her remaining garments faster than he would have thought possible. Still holding her wrists captive, he grinned down at her as his hand slid down her quivering abdomen to her hot core, slick with her desire for him. Teasingly, he circled her clit with a finger without actually making contact, a little surprised at how hard her hips thrust up toward his hand seeking the contact she craved.

"Booth," she growled, glaring at him, "stop teasing. Please," the whispered plea combined with the dampness coating his fingers and the desire darkening her eyes extinguished any desire he had to tease her. Releasing her wrists, his mouth crashed down onto hers, his tongue plunging into her mouth at the same instant two fingers plunged into her hot, tight channel, his fingers curling, unerringly finding her gspot. He was rewarded with a keening cry and the feel of her soft hand closing around his erection, stroking fast and hard and suddenly, he couldn't wait to be inside her.

Pulling his hand away from her moist depths, he pulled both legs around his waist and buried himself inside her with one hard thrust, pausing at the feeling of coming home, as her muscles tightened around his hard cock and she fit him like she had been made for that express purpose. Brennan shuddered and bucked beneath him, wanting him to move, to give make her feel like only he could. Tongue tangling with his, she tightened her legs around his waist and pulled him down while lifting her hips, pushing him even deeper inside her. Unable to deny her, Booth almost withdrew then plunged back inside a little more roughly than he had intended, but he could tell she really liked it by the way her vaginal walls tightened and his cock was covered with a gush of moisture.

Driven as much by the whimpers issuing from her throat as by the knot of desire getting tighter and tighter low in his abdomen, Booth slid one hand under her bottom, tilting her hips to allow him even deeper penetration, his pubic bone grinding against her clit with every hard thrust. Her hands flew over his body, touching and stroking the spots that drove him wild as she sucked his tongue between her lips and Booth felt his thighs start to quiver and his testicles tighten signaling his release was very, very close, but he was too far gone to slow down, by now, needing relief from the almost unbearable tension holding his body hostage. Plunging faster, deeper, harder, he could only gasp against her mouth as she whimpered and arched against him, her hips jerking uncontrollably against him as her tension exploded in a spectacular orgasm that had her inner muscles clamping down on him so hard it was almost painful, his continued thrusts drawing out her orgasm and triggering his own. Groaning his release into her waiting mouth, his thrusts slowed and stopped and he collapsed onto her, not even having the strength to roll to the side to keep from crushing her.

"Damn, Bones, one of these days I think you might actually kill me," he groaned from where his head rested against her shoulder. Feeling her shaking under him, he leveraged his upper body off of her to look down into her laughing face expecting to get a lecture on how that was unlikely.

"Maybe, but what a way to go," she waggled her eyebrows suggestively and her laughter turned into the most unBones like giggles he'd ever heard come out of her mouth. Not even trying to suppress his own laughter, he had to admit she was right, if it was time to meet his maker, he could think of no better way to go.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi, guys, I'm going to be out of town for a few days but promise you some excitement when I get back. The more you review, the more exciting those chapters will be. And, yes, I feel a little bad about using bribery, but, hey, whatever works.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own them.**

Ushering Brennan into the Pentagon the next morning at 0730, Booth stifled a yawn. They had gone to bed early for them, they just hadn't gotten much sleep which he was more than willing to give up for making love to his wife. Unfortunately, Brennan tended to get a little cranky when she didn't get enough sleep and Booth hoped no one pissed her off this morning or it could get ugly as he had been unable to cajole her out of her bad mood.

Brennan's mood had nothing to do with missing out on sleep. It was all about what they were going to be talking about today. Not that she was against the mission. She wanted those bastards gone more than most, she just dreaded the memories this meeting was likely to dredge up. Memories that she did her best to pretend didn't exist, but still sneaked up on her and ripped her heart out every time they did.

Striding across the lobby, Booth wasn't surprised to see the crew already there. He was surprised when, without a word being spoken, Nathaniel and one the twins stepped in front of Brennan, Grant stepped up to her other side, Alex and the other twin took up rear positions, and they walked across the lobby in formation, Brennan completely isolated from any outside threat. He could tell by her non reaction that this had happened so many times she didn't even notice it anymore, but he had to, again, wonder just what the hell she had been up to without him knowing. Stopping outside the conference room where they were to be briefed, Nathaniel turned to Brennan.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked softly. Booth felt Brennan's hand slip into his and knew this was really, really hard for her if she displayed even that much weakness. Giving Nathaniel a grateful smile for his concern, she nodded and squeezed Booth's hand. Nathaniel pulled the door open and they entered the room, their little formation intact. Booth found it almost laughable that they thought they needed to protect her in this building but he guessed old habits were hard to break.

General Hood looked around, almost laughing aloud as he saw Brennan completely surrounded by big, burly military men, all of whom would, no doubt, kill or even die for her. Making his way over to the group, he managed to contain his amusement as they checked the room for any threats before parting and allowing him to approach the woman of the hour.

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth, I just wanted to apologize for spilling the beans in my office yesterday. I hope I didn't cause you any undue difficulties with your father in law, Agent Booth." Being aware of Max's history, the General sincerely hoped this was the case as Max's way of taking care of people was pretty final, but Booth didn't look worried so Hood relaxed. Booth had no idea what kind of grief Max was going to give him as they weren't meeting until this afternoon, but he expected anger at the very least, so he just nodded at the General's question. "Grant, I'm not surprised you asked to be assigned to this mission after what happened. We're always happy to have you on board. And I think your skills may be needed with this new plan." Grant shook Hood's hand and made small talk as Booth took Brennan's arm and pulled her toward a table holding the coffee set up.

"What are Grant's special skills, Bones?" Booth asked quietly. He had meant to ask the same question about each of the men he would be going into battle with last night but had gotten distracted. Handing her a cup of coffee, he fixed one for himself and turned back to eye the enormous number of people in the room.

"Explosives," answered Brennan placidly. Booth's eyebrow rose. _What the hell kind of plan had they come up with that would require an explosives expert? _He guessed he'd find out soon enough.

"Nathaniel?" Brennan's cup paused fractionally on its way to her mouth, drawing Booth's eyes to her face.

"He's the leader of the team, Booth. The alpha male. He's also a sniper." She said calmly. Well, it wasn't like anything but the sniper part was news to him.

"Alex?" Brennan couldn't hide her grin. _How to explain Alex's particular expertise? _

"Information gathering," Brennan finally decided that most fully covered Alex's qualifications. Noting her grin, Booth knew there was more but it wasn't that important or she would have said so and they could talk about the rest later.

"Gavin?"

"Communications."

"Garrett?"

"Playing pranks," Brennan offered in complete seriousness, smiling when Booth almost choked on his coffee. "Acquisitions," Booth frowned, seriously wondering just what she meant by that, but was distracted by people beginning to seat themselves around the long conference table in the middle of the room before he could ask.

Booth escorted Brennan to the table and seated her with himself on one side. He noted that Nathaniel took the chair on the other side of Brennan and his team was seated in the next five chairs. Glancing around, Booth noted two or three empty chairs when the General seated himself at the head of the table and motioned for everyone to continue with their individual conversations. They were obviously waiting on someone else's arrival before beginning the meeting. Booth looked around and noted that Brennan was receiving surreptitious glances from nearly everyone in the room, but she was oblivious to them, sitting quietly in her chair, her thoughts a million miles away.

Taking the opportunity to study the other players evidently involved in the planning this operation, Booth noted that the number of people in the room had dropped dramatically but there were still more high ranking uniforms than he'd ever seen together outside a ballroom. There were also a lot of suits and they were all trying to mask the subtle tension in the room with forced joviality.

Several minutes later, the doors to the conference room opened and Booth watched as two rather nondescript men entered the room and quickly approached the table, taking the last two free seats. _Finally, they could get down to business,_ hethought, jostling Brennan's arm lightly to get her attention. Her head turned in his direction and he felt her entire body go rigid as her eyes riveted on the two new arrivals. If he hadn't been looking directly at her face, Booth would have missed the hatred and anger that flashed across her face before her expression, once again, turned bland. There was, however, no way he could miss the way her fingers were digging into the arms of her chair so hard he was surprised her nails didn't pierce the leather. He also couldn't miss the way Nathaniel's hand gripped her forearm as if he was holding her in place or the look on the other man's face so closely mirroring the one he had seen so briefly on Brennan's. Brennan's eyes flashed toward the General with such a look of betrayal that the man looked away briefly.

Booth continued to eye his wife with concern as one of the several Majors at the table stood and welcomed everyone, immediately launching into the objectives of the mission and informing everyone that Brennan had agreed to participate. Brennan looked at the man speaking almost in shock, unable to believe the presence of one of the last two men to enter the room. No wonder he hadn't arrived any earlier, he had probably been afraid to face her or any of her former team and with good reason. Each and every one of them would love the chance to drop him where he stood.

"No," Brennan's quiet voice dripped with ice, sounding as if she had shouted the word, completely drowning out the voice of the Major and drawing everyone's attention. The major's jaw dropped as he looked at Brennan's set expression, pausing in his praise of all the work the CIA and State Department had done to help set this up.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Brennan, did you have something to say?" Booth winced at the condescending tone the man used, he sounded as if he were humoring her, which was bad when she was in a good mood, it could prove disastrous in this situation. General Hood could have put a stop to the developing situation easily, he'd had no idea the man whose presence Brennan objected to so strongly had wormed his way into this operation and was furious this had gotten by him, but Brennan deserved the chance to air her grievances and she could hold her own. Besides, he hadn't seen her eviscerate someone in a long time and that was always a good show. Seeing Brennan's eyes narrow and her jaw tighten, he sat back in anticipation.

"Major, am I to understand that the people at this table are the best you have to offer to assure this mission's success?" her soft voice sent a shiver down Booth's spine but the Major just gave her a condescending smile.

"Don't worry, Dr. Brennan, you just have to show up and we'll take care of the rest." Booth, Nathaniel and the rest of the team physically cringed at the Major's implication that Brennan wasn't really contributing, that she should just sit back, not worry her pretty little head about anything and let the big, strong men take care of her. He might as well have patted her on the head, the results would have been the same. Hood hid his grin behind his hand as he waited to see what Brennan would do. He didn't have long to wait.

"I see," Brennan replied, her voice shaking with fury that the Major was stupid enough to think was repressed tears at his words. He even felt a little bad that he had hurt her feelings but she needed to know her place in the mission. It was for her own good. In one smooth motion, Brennan pushed her chair back from the table and stood, looking directly at Hood and only Hood. "Goodbye, gentlemen," she said firmly, turning toward the door with six men right behind her.

"Wait! Dr. Brennan, you can't just leave," the Major yelled, flabbergasted at her behavior. He'd heard she could be difficult, but she couldn't just walk out on this mission. _Could she?_ It appeared she could do exactly that as she had almost reached the door. Frantically searching his mind for a way to appease her, he thought he hit upon the perfect plan. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings," he called out, grinning at several snickers from some of the others. Brennan stiffened, stopped in her tracks and spun around. Watching her stalk back toward the table, the Major swallowed hard. She didn't look like her feelings were hurt, she looked like she wanted to kill him. Reaching the table, she slapped her palms flat on its surface and leaned forward, pinning the Major with a gaze that actually took him aback.

"While I find your Neanderthal tendencies less than charming, Major, you don't hold the power to hurt my feelings." She hissed. "I merely find myself forced to reevaluate my willingness to participate in this venture if these are the individuals you find trustworthy. Judging from your choices, I can only conclude that you suffer from a shocking lack of judgment or an appalling lack of intelligence, neither of which I find particularly inspire me to trust in your own abilities." Brennan's icy eyes remained locked with the red faced, sputtering Major, completely ignoring the growing snickers from the other men at the table. She hadn't said it to be funny, she had simply and concisely conveyed her feelings on the matter.

"How dare you talk to me like that? Who the hell do you think you..," General Hood cut into the Major's little rant.

"Steven, sit down and shut up," he ordered sharply. The major sat, glaring at Brennan who turned to Hood. "You have my apologies, Dr. Brennan. I have no idea how this little situation developed in the first place, but, trust me when I say I will get to the bottom of it. I trust you will at least be willing to listen to the presentation if Mr. Robins is removed from the equation?" At her jerky nod, Hood turned toward the man who seemed to be generating a great deal of animosity in Brennan and her former team. "Your services are not required here, Mr. Robins." Booth got the distinct impression that Hood didn't particularly care for the weasly little man who looked like he was stupid enough to argue about his dismissal.

"But, Sir, surely she can't still be mad about something so minor that happened two years ago," the man whined to Hood, doing his best to avoid looking at Brennan. Now Brennan was holding Nathaniel's arm tightly and the soldier looked as if he was going across the table after the man who did have enough of a sense of self preservation to shrink back in his chair. Booth was thoroughly confused. It was obvious this man had something to do with the fiasco two years ago, something that Brennan and the others continued to hold a grudge about and he was getting a little irritated at being in the dark. He was forestalled from pulling his wife away from the table and demanding an explanation when she turned her ire on the man himself.

"Minor?" Her voice was shaking with fury. "And what would you consider major, you bastard? Because by my count, thirty one people lost their lives, twelve of them citizens of our country, men courageous enough to defend their country with their lives." Booth felt his fists clench in fury as the slimy little man shrugged.

"Soldiers die, Dr. Brennan," His tone suggested they were disposable and now Garrett, Gavin and Grant were all holding Alex back from going after the disgusting little man. Straightening to her full height, Brennan gave him such a scathing look that he practically deflated.

"A lot of soldiers die on your missions, Mr. Robins," she said coldly, making it clear she had done her homework on him and most of the other men in the room were suddenly giving the man looks he didn't care for. "Logic leads me to conclude that you are either incredibly inept and no one has noticed, which I seriously doubt or you are totally corrupt and your partners in crime shield you which I find much more likely. Tell me, Mr. Robins, how many soldiers under the command of these men," she made a sweeping gesture of the table, "have you deliberately sent to their deaths for your own personal gain? Come now, Mr. Robins, don't be shy. I'm sure these gentlemen are just as interested in your answer as I am or are you so without a conscience that you don't even bother to keep count?"

Booth was impressed with the calm way Brennan was taunting the man and turning the room against him at the same time, unsure if she was even aware of what she was doing. Ranting and raving would have gained her nothing but the label of an emotional female, but the way the movers and shakers in Washington were now looking at the little weasel, if his career wasn't over it certainly wasn't as rosy as it had been when he entered the room. Looking into her eyes, he saw the satisfaction register there as she glanced around the room. _She knew exactly what she was doing,_ Booth realized in shock wondering who the hell this woman was. Robins gathered his things and hastily made his way to the door, his eyes shooting daggers of hatred at Brennan who didn't even bother to acknowledge his existence now that she was done with him.

"Um, Dr. Brennan," the same major who had opened the meeting called her attention to him, his tone much more respectful than before, "I would like to offer my apologies for my earlier behavior." He actually fidgeted under her perusal and smiled when she gave him a regal nod of acceptance. "If you'd all like to be reseated, we would like to get your team's input on our current plan." Brennan allowed Booth to reseat her, giving her team a good glare that told them to cut the snickers they weren't even trying to hide at the obvious change of attitude sweeping through the room. Booth could only shake his head as his wife whose social skills were generally, well, let's face it, somewhat lacking who now had some of the most powerful men in Washington practically jumping through hoops.

Booth walked into the restaurant and looked around for his father in law, finally spotting him at a table in the corner. With a sigh, Booth made his way over for the inquisition. He had just spent more than five hours at the Pentagon listening to a plan that he felt sure would give him nightmares. He had been able to convince his wife not to agree to anything until they had time to discuss things in private and she had promised General Hood her final decision in the morning. He had then dropped her off at the Jeffersonian where she wanted to get some things in order before leaving the country and come to meet Max alone, at his request. He really dreaded this little chat. He really liked Max but it had been unbelievably difficult for them to even agree on a place to meet and, in Booth's opinion that did not bode well for the upcoming conversation.

Booth had a lot to get done this afternoon, but Max had refused his invitation for the meeting to take place in his office. Understandable, Booth knew, just irritating. They had both vetoed the Jeffersonian knowing they would never keep Brennan away from the conversation on her turf. Neither had really wanted to go to the diner or Sid's since they frequented both places and if things got heated they didn't want their next appearance to cause anyone any embarrassment. Max had finally suggested an Italian restaurant midway between the Jeffersonian and the Hoover building. Booth had agreed, he was hungry even though they had been fed sandwiches at their morning meeting and Brennan had refused lunch. Normally, he wouldn't let her get away with that but today he just didn't have the energy to argue about that. He had much bigger things on his mind, one of which was currently watching him walk across the room, no hint of his thoughts or feelings on his face.

"Max," Booth greeted, stopping beside the table politely.

"Booth, please sit down," Max's tone was noncommittal as Booth pulled out a chair and seated himself, picking up a menu as if they were having a friendly lunch which is what he really, really hoped this turned out to be.

"So, what's good here?"

"Tempe likes the eggplant parmesan, but you would probably prefer the chicken parmesan. It is excellent, as well." Booth sighed at Max's formal speech patterns and set down his menu, running a hand tiredly over his face.

"Okay, Max, why don't you just go ahead and let me have it? Just get it out of the way now so we can have a peaceful lunch," Booth offered. Max lifted a brow at his new son in law's eagerness to face his wrath, unable to keep the amusement from his face. Fighting to banish the grin curving his lips, Max studied the younger man, noting he looked tired and a little worried.

"Booth, why do you think I asked you to lunch?" Since Booth hadn't exactly seen this as a simple lunch invitation, he wasn't quite sure what Max was getting at but he was just too wiped to play mind games with the man.

"Well, Max, I assumed it was concerning me and Bones being married." Max's smile instantly vanished and Booth could have sworn he saw a flash of hurt in the man's eyes before he could hide it. _Great, now he felt even worse_. "Look, Max, I can understand why you would be upset that we didn't invite you to the wedding or tell you immediately, but it just kind of happened." Seeing Max's eyebrows rising and the way he was frowning told Booth that had been the wrong thing to say. Leaning back in chair, arms crossed over his chest, he regarded Booth a little suspiciously.

"I'm sorry, Booth, but you're going to have to explain to me how you just happened to marry my little girl." Booth almost grinned at the offended father in front of him, knowing that his statement hadn't come out being even close to what he meant to say but he didn't think Max would be especially appreciative of his amusement.

"What I meant to say, Max, is that Bones and I got married because we love each other. I proposed to her in Las Vegas and the manager at our hotel insisted on us having the wedding there," Booth went on to explain his and Brennan's history with the casino manager and his insistence that he allow them to do this for them. He might have been reluctant to share such personal details with others, but Max was the only father in law he ever planned to have and, despite their history, was an important part of Brennan's life so he was willing to appease the man. At the end of the explanation, Max had uncrossed his arms and was smiling softly, obviously proud of his daughter and what she accomplished on a daily basis.

"To be honest with you, Booth, I was more than a little upset that I missed the wedding," Max held up a hand, forestalling what he presumed were Booth's apologies. "Just let me explain, Booth. I never really expected Tempe to get married," he and Booth shared a look of understanding, both intimately familiar with her oft stated views on matrimony, "and when I found out she had gotten married and that was just something else I had missed out on in her life, well, it got to me right here," he placed a hand over his heart and Booth felt like a real jerk, but there was nothing he could do to change it, so he simply listened to Max vent. "It wasn't any of my business and I'm sure Tempe would tell me that in a heartbeat, but I couldn't help but be a little resentful that I didn't get to walk her down the aisle." Booth, being Booth, heard what Max wasn't saying just as loudly as what he was.

"She loves you, Max," he offered softly, receiving such a look of gratitude that his eyes stung for just a second.

"I know, Booth. I guess I just want to be the same dad to her that I was thirty years ago even though I know that isn't possible." Booth understood what the man was saying. He wanted to be his daughter's hero, have her see him with the same eyes as a three year old, have her welcome him into her life with open arms. Even though Brennan had accepted her remaining family into her life, things would never be that way between her and Max again and, as a father, Booth could understand the pain that loss would generate. He couldn't or wouldn't lie to the man to make him feel better but he could give him some honest encouragement.

"Max, just because things are different with you two now doesn't mean they can't be really, really good. She knows you love her and she loves you. Between the two of you, I'm sure you can build something even better than what you have now. Every child's relationship with their parents changes as they grow up, Max. No adult feels the same way about their parents that they did as children." Max regarded Booth thoughtfully as he considered his words, finally nodding. His reply was interrupted by the waiter approaching to take their orders.

"So, why did you two decide not to tell me about the wedding when you got back?" Booth could hear the hurt and the belief that it was only him they had kept in the dark in the older man's voice. He couldn't do anything about the hurt but he could set him straight on the facts.

"It wasn't just you, Max. We were going to invite everyone out to dinner the night we came home and make an announcement but we got back to the lab just after the explosion and just decided to wait until the excitement died down a little before sharing our news. We didn't tell anyone, Max." Max looked immensely pleased with the news then his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You didn't even tell Angela," Booth knew this was a way of testing the validity of his statement, if they were going to share with anyone it would have been Angela. Booth wasn't insulted by Max's question, he understood it didn't necessarily mean the man thought he was lying. He was simply a scientist gathering information, much like his daughter, Booth couldn't help but blush at the question, recalling exactly how Angela had found out. Rubbing his earlobe between his fingertips, he gave Max a sheepish smile.

"Well, yeah, actually I did tell Angela," noting the way Max's expression fell, Booth hurried on with his explanation, "It was an accident, Max. I was upset and just blurted it out." He wasn't about to get into what he had been upset about, but Max didn't ask, just grinned at the pictures Booth's words conjured, the grin settling into a look of sadness.

"I'll bet she was a beautiful bride," he almost whispered.

"She's always beautiful, Max, but, yes, she was a beautiful bride. There's a video if you're interested," he offered almost absently as the waiter set their food in front of them. When Max didn't respond, Booth looked up to see Max's eyes glistening with tears.

"Thank you, Booth and I would love to see the video. Now, let's eat." Booth almost laughed at the way Max attacked his food but understood when he took his first bite. It was fantastic. The rest of the meal was spent in small talk and Max doing his best to nag details of what had happened at the meeting at the Pentagon out of the tight lipped Booth. Booth refused to comment on specifics, but did his best to reassure Max that he would keep Brennan safe and happy. He wasn't sure how successful he had been until they finished their meal. Max insisted it was his treat and Booth didn't think it was worth upsetting the status quo to argue. Walking out of the restaurant together, Max pulled Booth to one side of the walkway out of pedestrian traffic and gave him a long, searching look.

"Well, Booth, I guess there's only one thing left to say." Booth braced himself for the standard if you hurt my daughter, I'll hunt you down and kill you father speech, know Max would mean every word. He was stunned by what Max said instead. "Congratulations and welcome to the family, son," Max murmured, holding out his hand and pulling Booth into a surprisingly strong hug when he took the proffered hand. Booth unselfconsciously returned the hug, both men blinking back tears of gratitude for the woman that bound them


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the delay one and all. I promise we are getting to the mission, but Musie insisted on this one and you guys know how she is. LOL. Now, please remember to review.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Angela glided into Brennan's office quietly and made her way over to her friend's desk where she was diligently answering emails and clearing her desk determined to find out what was going on. Perching on the edge of Brennan's desk, she waited for the anthropologist to notice her presence. Several minutes later, realizing Brennan was lost in her work, Angela heaved a huge sigh.

"Bren?"

"Hmm?" Brennan never looked up, her fingers continuing to fly across the keyboard. Rolling her eyes, Angela started to demand Brennan's full attention then grinned devilishly, deciding she could probably get more out of a distracted Brennan than one who was focused on the conversation and there were lots of things she was just dying to know.

"Bren, how did you meet the twins?" Garrett had told Angela they hadn't known Brennan quite as long as Nathaniel and Alex, but adamantly refused to give her any details without Brennan's ok, the laughter in his eyes during the conversation had made Angela determined to hear the story.

"What?" Brennan glanced at Angela, a frown furrowing her brow, "Ange, I'm really busy. We'll have to talk later." Turning back to her work, she dismissed her friend which was fine with Angela.

"So, how was it you said you met the twins, Bren?" Brennan frowned again, only half her attention on Angela's words. _Had she ever told Angela about that?_ She didn't think so but wasn't certain and maybe if she told her now she would go away and leave her to work in peace. It wasn't like it was a matter of national security, she just didn't really want it to get back to Booth, certain he would not approve, and she did have a lot to get done today. Sighing, she decided they should get Angela to teach interrogation techniques to soldiers and answered her friend.

"I bought them," Brennan said blandly, her fingers moving across the keyboard, not even noticing Angela's start of surprise.

"_You bought them_? You mean like at Macys?" This remark earned the artist a look that asked if she had completely lost her mind, then Brennan's attention returned to the computer screen.

"Of course not, Ange. They're human beings, not inanimate objects and slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865. Besides, it is morally objectionable to buy and sell other people." Angela couldn't hold back her laughter at the lecturing tone of Brennan's voice.

"Says the woman who just told me she bought herself a matching set of boy toys. Bren, you have to tell me where you got them in case I ever want to shop there." Brennan's appalled gaze met Angela's. She relaxed against her chair when she saw the teasing in Angela's eyes and realized she didn't really believe that Brennan had bought the twins as toys. She wasn't entirely sure what that meant but coming from Angela, she had a good guess and almost blushed at the implication.

"There is no store, Ange." Brennan informed her friend seriously. Angela rolled her eyes.

"Then where did you get them?" Brennan knew she might as well tell her the rest, Angela sure wasn't going to let it go now.

"Peru, I got them in Peru," she sighed. Angela just raised an eyebrow so Brennan kept talking. "Nathaniel and Alex were on a dig with me and they got a call about some Senator's sons who had disappeared near where we were. They were sent to investigate and locate the boys so I went with them." She glossed over the rip roaring fight she'd had with the two men about sending her home, a fight she had won she remembered with grim satisfaction. "We found them," she finished with a shrug.

"Oh no, Sweetie. You know you can't just leave me hanging like that, it doesn't work like that, Bren." Sighing at Brennan's confused look, Angela demanded, "Details, Bren, I want details." Angela could practically see Brennan's mind sorting through the details and determining which ones she would share. She had already learned a lot. She'd had no idea Nathaniel and Alex went on digs with Brennan. Brennan's digs were just so personal to her that Angela was shocked at the two men's presence and that Brennan would just leave the dig. There was something big that her friend was keeping from her but she would get back to that later, she was truly intrigued by the current story. Brennan laughed at the eager expression on Angela's face, leaning back and crossing her hands on her stomach.

"When we found them, I bought them," Angela gave a frustrated sigh and started to demand more details when a voice from the door cut her off.

"You can tell her, Red," Gavin stepped into the room, followed by his twin. He had overheard her earlier conversation with Garrett and seen the way she had hightailed it to Brennan. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out she was going to ask about them and he knew Brennan wouldn't share any details to protect him and his brother. Giving him a small smile, Brennan just shook her head.

"We were young and stupid," Gavin turned to Angela, continuing Brennan's story. "We were rebelling against out father, against everything he stood for," he really didn't want to get into their issues with their father; they could be here for years if he did that. "So, we went to Peru with a friend and joined up with a bunch of what we thought at the time were mercenaries. We thought they were fighting to free the locals from tyranny," Gavin rushed on to explain when he saw the way Angela's eyes widened at the mention of mercenaries.

"They weren't?" she whispered, enthralled by what she was hearing. Brennan and Garrett snorted.

"Hardly," Garrett picked up the explanation. "They were the biggest tyrants in the area. They were eager to welcome Americans who might have money to help their cause, but became much less friendly when we refused to rough up the locals and steal medical supplies being shipped in from the US to sell on the black market. The only reason they didn't kill us right then was our friend told them who our father was and they decided to ransom us back to him."

"So, you bought them back for their father?" Angela was trying to make sure she had the details straight. Brennan hadn't told her not to share the story and there was no way she was keeping this one from Jack.

"Not exactly," murmured Brennan looking at her hands.

"Our father refused to pay the ransom," Gavin said quietly, smiling a little at Angela's gasp of shock. "But he was perfectly willing to call in some favors and send in a Special Forces team to find us, get us out and teach us a lesson in the process," Angela had no idea what to say to this. She could hear in Gavin's voice that he had some issues with his father. Heck, she'd certainly had issues with her own father over the years but she knew in her heart, he would never refuse to pay ransom to get her back from a group of killers, even if she had been stupid enough to get herself into the situation in the first place. She was saved from having to respond when Garrett went on with the story.

"We had just gotten word that our father was taking the official line and refused to negotiate with terrorists. Needless to say, our captors were less than thrilled. They dragged us out of our cell and forced us to kneel in the middle of camp." Garrett had to stop and clear his throat. "We thought we were going to die," he almost whispered.

"Then we heard a voice calling out and looked up to see this woman just strolling into camp like she was taking a walk in the park," Gavin's relief at that moment was reflected in his voice.

"She wasn't supposed to be anywhere near that camp," growled Alex, entering the room and glaring at Brennan, "but we should have known she wouldn't stay where we told her to." Brennan snorted.

"You needed me that day, Alex. Those men would have shot you and Nathaniel on sight and you know it." She argued. Yes, he did know it, the rebels were savvy enough to recognize military when they saw it and they wouldn't have hesitated to kill all four of them on the spot, but he wasn't going to tell her that. They had been trying to introduce her to the concept of following orders for years with little success and praising that stunt would just reinforce bad behavior he though stubbornly, then winked at her. Brennan laughed at him.

"Can anyone join the party?" Nathaniel asked from the doorway, entering when Angela graciously waved her arm, giving him permission to enter.

"Bren was just telling me about buying Gavin and Garrett," she told the new arrival happily, noting the scowl he turned to Brennan and the placid smile she met it with.

"Why don't you want Booth to know about that?" he asked quietly, holding her gaze.

"It would just upset him, Nathaniel, and since it's long over, there is no point in him knowing." Nathaniel and Alex both snorted. Yeah, they thought the whole story would probably give Booth gray hair. It certainly had upset them at the time. Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Nathaniel turned his head just enough to see Booth making his way toward this office. His first instinct was to warn Brennan and protect her and her secrets, but they would be going on a mission with this man and he didn't think Booth had any real concept of what kind of dangerous situations Brennan was apt to put herself into. Maybe he needed to hear this.

"So where did you get to with the story?" He wanted to make sure Booth had all the details and, even though he had promised Brennan he wouldn't tell Booth, she hadn't extracted any such promise concerning her best friend.

"She was walking into camp with them," Angela pointed to the twins, her eyes wide and her voice rising in excitement, "about to get shot."

"Yeah," Nathaniel said softly, clearly recalling the terror he had felt for her safety in that instant and how badly he's wanted to shake some sense into her when it was over. "She decided to go in and take care of things herself without even knowing our position," he growled, his frustration at the situation clearly coming through.

"What did you expect me to do, Nathaniel? They were about to shoot Garrett and Gavin. I couldn't just stand around and let them do that." Angela's eyes widened as Nathaniel left his chair, planted his hands on Brennan's desk and leaned over her, a position she had seen Booth take countless times, but she didn't feel any of the sexual tension the confrontations with Booth always seemed to generate.

"I expected you to stay put and let us do our job," he informed her a little curtly. She stood and leaned toward him.

"You obviously weren't doing it fast enough, Nathaniel." She told him loftily, throwing in a good glare. Booth stepped into the room and took in the scene with a strong sense of déjàvu. He had been in that position many, many times himself. He had heard the last few sentences and understood Nathaniel's point of view only too well. He also understood that Brennan was more than a little pissed at the moment and his choices were to diffuse the situation or add fuel to the fire. Since they had much bigger problems than something that happened years ago, he chose diffusion, he could always have a private chat with Nathaniel later.

"She doesn't believe in delayed gratification." Everyone but Nathaniel jumped at Booth's amused voice. Brennan turned her glare his way but couldn't help but smile back at the grin he gave her. Nathaniel dropped back into his chair with a long suffering sigh.

"Hi," Brennan said softly, walking over to greet Booth with a lingering kiss on the lips.

"Hi," he returned the greeting and the kiss. "So, what were you two fighting about?" he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his eyebrow rising when she avoided his eyes. With a finger under her chin, he tipped her face up to his. "Bones?" She looked away then smiled at him, pulling away and returning to her chair without answering his question. He knew that meant she didn't want to tell him something but was unwilling to lie to him, but he had a whole roomful of people to interrogate and that was his specialty. Turning toward the weakest link, he simply raised a brow at Angela and she hurried into speech.

"They were telling me how Bren bought Garrett and Gavin." Booth's eyebrow rose higher. _Bought?_ That was news to him and certainly worth hearing. Not taking his eyes off Angela, he nodded and she chattered nervously catching him up. Nodding, he turned to Brennan to find her still avoiding his eyes. Walking behind her chair, Booth put his hands on Brennan's shoulders, gently massaging the knots of tension he found there.

"Want to tell me the rest?" he asked softly. With a sigh, she relaxed against the chair and gave him an honest answer.

"Not really." Booth laughed at her honesty. "But if I don't, I'm sure they will." She sent her former team an indignant glare as Booth continued to soothingly rub her shoulders. "I went into the camp and offered to buy Garrett and Gavin. I didn't have the appropriate ransom so we negotiated," she said simply, her tensing shoulders telling Booth there was more to the story. Looking at Nathaniel and Alex, he raised a brow. Nathaniel found he couldn't break a direct promise to Brennan but gave Alex permission to do it for him with a nod. Before he could spill the beans, Angela broke in, unable to contain her curiosity.

"How much did they cost?" Brennan rolled her eyes, but answered the question.

"Three hundred dollars, my IPod, and my watch." Booth knew there was more but it was obvious Brennan was done sharing. Booth saw Alex hesitate and look at Brennan.

"You need to tell him the rest," he urged Brennan who folded her arms across her chest and shook her head stubbornly, unable to believe Alex would break her trust and cat her out (was that the appropriate phrase?). With a sigh and an apologetic look, Alex turned to Booth.

"The leader of the group took one look at her and decided they would hold her for ransom, among other things," Booth was capable of catching the inference in Alex's words and his hands tightened involuntarily on Brennan's shoulders. "Luckily, we had worked our way near enough to camp to overhear the conversation and had picked up a few toys that had been dropped for us, so when she totally bluffed the guy, we were able to give her some assistance." Booth had so many questions running through his mind, he didn't know what to ask first, but one part of Alex's statement was giving him great difficulty.

"She doesn't bluff," he argued. _Not well enough to fool anyone, anyway_, Booth thought to himself. Noting the looks on her old team's faces he began to dread the rest of the story, sure he wasn't going to like it. "Tell me," he said softly to Alex as Brennan's hands came up to cover his on her shoulders and she squeezed reassuringly. He knew then he really, really wasn't going to like the rest. Brennan took over the explanation, deciding that Booth should hear this from her.

"I did bluff him, Booth. I didn't have a choice when he refused to accept what I had with me for Gavin and Garrett's lives and threatened me," she told him earnestly.

"What did you do?" Booth had to work hard to keep his voice steady and not roar out the question.

"I told him he was surrounded by a Special Forces unit and if he didn't let me walk out of the camp with the twins they would blow up his camp." She sounded almost proud of herself and Booth found his knees shaking. _Did she really not understand how much danger she had walked into or did she just not care?_ Focusing his growing anger on the men who were supposed to be watching out for her at the time, Booth glared at Nathaniel and Alex, who both raised their hands in gestures of innocence. "He didn't believe me," her voice was now disgruntled, pulling Booth back to her explanation.

"Nathaniel and I were able to create enough of a show to make the guy believe we had the manpower and capability to do what she threatened and he let them go," Alex told the furious man, clearly remembering his relief that she was safe and his urge to yell at the good doctor until he was hoarse for taking those kind of chances. From the look on her husband's face she was in for a well deserved scolding even if it was years after the fact. Spinning Brennan's chair around so that she was facing him, he leaned down placing his palms on the arms of her chair and looked directly into her eyes.

"Did you know they had the kind of firepower to follow through on your threat when you walked into that camp?" he asked softly, his blazing brown eyes boring into hers. They were so caught up in the staring contest they didn't even notice the others quietly leaving the room and closing the door firmly behind them, leaving the two to work this out in privacy.

"No," she knew he wasn't going to like her answer, but she wouldn't lie to him. Booth's knees almost buckled at the confirmation of what he had already known. Breathing deeply, he tried to control his rising ire, telling himself this had happened a long time ago, to just let it go. _To hell with that_.

"_Were you trying to get yourself killed_?" he yelled directly into her face.

"Of course not, Booth," she soothed, telling herself not to get upset at his attitude, it would serve no purpose for her to get agitated, but it did grate a little that he had so little confidence in her abilities.

"What did you think would happen when you strutted into an enemy camp, Bones?" he demanded, pushing himself to a standing position and beginning to pace, running his hand through his hair. Brennan stiffened at the question.

"First of all, Seeley Booth, I do not _strut,_" Booth looked back at her incredulously. With what they were discussing, she was going to get upset over him saying she strutted_? Unfreakingbelievable._ "And second, I thought they would sell Garrett and Gavin to me," Booth could hear in her voice that she had known it was unlikely to be that simple and it only fed his fury. Walking over to her, he gripped her shoulders, being careful not to hurt her.

"Don't lie to me, Bones," he demanded and her eyes dropped for a second, then snapped back to his.

"Fine, Booth. I knew it was unlikely to end well, but they already had guns pointed at those two boys' heads and I couldn't just stand there and do nothing."

"And what about you, Bones? What about your safety? Did you even think about how I would feel if you never came back? How I would feel to find out that you were dead?" His voice shook with anguish at the thought.

"No," she said simply, not to cause him pain, just to tell the truth, hating to see him flinch at her answer. "You had been quite clear regarding your feelings for me, Booth, so, no, your reaction didn't influence my decision." Her voice was calm and reasonable but there was underlying hurt that tore at Booth's heart. He had no idea what she was talking about.

"Bones, how, exactly, do you think I felt about you? Please tell me you never thought I wouldn't care if you died." Her eyes flashing away from his told him she had thought that very thing or something very close. Before he could pull her into a reassuring hug, she pulled away, folded her arms across her chest and began to pace.

"No, Booth, I never thought you wouldn't care if I died." He was encouraged by that statement but stopped in his tracks as he was going to her at her next words. "You care about everybody, Booth. It's part of what makes you who you are. But you had made it very clear we were just partners. You would have adjusted." She shrugged just as Booth reached her, stepping in front of her and tilting her chin up to see her eyes, he saw she believed what she was saying. _God, if she had been killed, even three years ago, he would never have recovered from the loss and he had been so concerned with hiding his growing attraction and even love from her that she had thought she didn't matter to him._ Pulling her into his arms, he slipped his arms around her waist, linking his fingers at the small of her back.

"No," he assured her, looking directly into her eyes, "I wouldn't have gotten over it, Baby. I would never have recovered." Her eyes said she desperately wanted to believe that but she had evidence to the contrary. "What made you think that in the first place?" For several seconds, he thought she wasn't going to answer him then her head dropped forward until her forehead was resting above his heart and her answer was so soft, he barely heard it.

"You were dating my boss, Booth, and hiding it from me. What was I supposed to think?" The hurt creeping into her voice made Booth want to kick his own ass but he didn't really have an answer to that. That had been one of the stupidest things he had ever done, to pick up things with Cam again in an attempt to forget about his partner, knowing there was never any hope of success. It had been unfair to all three of them and he'd known Brennan was upset but had avoided the subject at all costs ever since. At first, because he was worried how that conversation would end, then because he hoped it was forgotten, but he knew his wife better than that and she deserved an explanation. But more than that, she deserved the truth. He had certainly rehearsed varied excuses if she ever asked, he'd just never considered that she would have read the situation to mean he didn't care about her, but he should have, considering her background. Cupping her face in his palms, he gently forced her to look up at him.

"I'm sorry you were hurt by that, Baby," he said solemnly, tenderly stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "I was so busy trying to distract myself from the constant need to drag you off somewhere dark and private that I did some things I'm not particularly proud of," seeing her eyes widen over his words, he smiled slightly, hoping he was getting through to her. "Don't get me wrong, I did care about Cam but," he added quickly as her eyes cooled considerably, "I was never in love with her and I shouldn't have been dating your boss regardless, it was thoughtless and disrespectful."

Until he said those last words, Brennan didn't realize how much she had needed to hear them. She was okay with Booth and Cam's past now but had apparently still been carrying around some resentment over the whole sleeping with her boss thing. Seeing the sincerity in Booth's eyes, she nodded.

"Why did you walk into that camp, Bones?" Booth questioned more softly.

"Because I couldn't not do it, Booth," she knew as a genius with an almost unlimited vocabulary at her disposal she could have been much more eloquent but Booth nodded in understanding as she had known he would. "Maybe I didn't adequately explore all possible contingencies in my undertakings then, but I haven't done anything like that in a long time, Booth, so stop worrying." He had to smile that she knew him well enough to know their proposed trip to Nicaragua was weighing heavily on his mind.

"I understand, Baby, but I need you to promise me you'll never do anything that dangerous again." Booth could see the struggle in her eyes, slightly unsure why his request was giving her pause.

"I promise that I will try to never do anything that dangerous again. But, Booth, when we go to Nicaragua, I may have to do some dangerous things," he almost shuddered at the reminder. What she said was true and exactly why he was going to do his best to make sure she didn't go to Nicaragua with the rest of them, but he didn't tell her that yet, knowing she wouldn't be pleased and home was the best place for that discussion. Instead, he shook his head and grinned at the self satisfied look on her face, thinking she had gotten the altered promise past him.

"What am I going to do with you?" he asked softly, bending until their foreheads touched. With a wicked smile, her arms crept up and around his neck.

"Oh, I think you'll think of something," she whispered huskily as her lips met his and held. _Oh, yeah, he could definitely think of something._


	16. Chapter 16

**As promised, this one is dedicated to JenRar. You guys have her to thank for demanding the return of the smut monster that is Musie. LOL. Hope you like it. Please remember to review. I may not always say it but each and every review means a lot to me.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan pushed opened the door to their apartment and entered followed closely by a very preoccupied Booth. For the last hour, he had been running various scenarios of the results they were likely to achieve with the plan that had been outlined to them at the Pentagon that very morning and he wasn't thrilled with his results. He knew the other soldiers had at least some reservations, if not misgivings, and they would be arriving shortly for a private pow wow. Shrugging out of his jacket, he absently hung it up, starting when he felt soft arms slip around his waist from behind. Turning to face his wife, he slid his arms around her waist and smiled down at her.

"How did things go with my father?" Booth grinned at the memory. He hadn't really been worried about Max's reaction, more like wary of getting off on the wrong foot with his new father in law, which no son in law wanted to do if they could help it.

"Things went fine, Baby," he assured her, pulling her closer and bending to nuzzle her neck.

"And he wasn't mad?" Brennan gasped, arching her neck to give him better access as her hands began to roam his strong back and muscular buttocks.

"A little hurt maybe, but not mad," he murmured absently against her ear, feeling her stiffen at his words. Pulling back where he could see the guilt on her face, he cupped her jaws in his hands. "Hey," he reassured softly, "he was fine, Bones, especially after I told him about the video. Now," he asked softly, bending to press a soft kiss against her lips, "do you really want to talk about your father right now?" His answer was her body surging upward to press tightly against him from chest to groin as her teeth nipped at his lower lip, so he was guessing no, she didn't want to talk about Max right now.

Tangling a hand in her hair, he angled her head and deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding past her lips to curl around hers. With a soft moan, she wrapped herself around him, responding to his kiss with a passion that made his toes curl as her hands roamed his aroused body, stoking the fire of passion into a blazing inferno. Shuffling her backward toward the bedroom, his hands roamed her body just as intimately as hers ran over his, his lips pushing hers further apart almost as if he wanted to devour her. She was so lost in the feelings that only this man, the love of her life, could rouse in her that she didn't even notice when they bumped into the wall. Hands moving to the hem of his t-shirt, she had it stripped over his head and discarded in seconds, just as he undid the last button on her shirt, flicked the front closure of her bra open and pressed his naked chest firmly against hers. With a sigh of satisfaction at the increased contact, Brennan melted against him.

Booth wanted to take his wife to bed but he couldn't seem to make himself take his hands off of her delectable body long enough to get her there. Not that she appeared to mind their present location as her lips moved from his to nip at the spot on his neck that always made his knees buckle, just as her hands landed on his belt buckle. His hands reaching for the button and zipper on her slacks, he froze at the pounding on their front door. _No, no, no, no,_ his body screamed. He had specifically told Nathaniel 8pm and it was barely six, so whoever was at the door wasn't invited. _It would be okay to ignore an uninvited visitor and continue with more pleasant activities,_ he assured himself. _Damn, too late_, he noted as his lips tried to recapture Brennan's and she turned her head to the side listening intently.

"Booth," she moaned as his mouth latched onto her neck and suckled in the spot that always made _her_ weak at the knees, "there's someone at the door." She was trying to gather the will to push him away and answer the door but wasn't quite there yet.

"Ignore them and they'll go away," he urged, his hands going back to the waistband of her pants as his lips captured hers again. Several minutes later, the knocking had become louder and more insistent and Booth almost snarled in frustration as he realized whoever was there wasn't just going to go away. Reluctantly pulling away from his wife who groaned in protest and tried to pull him back, he braced one arm on the wall beside Brennan and drew in great gulps of air. "Hold your horses, we're coming!" he yelled at whoever was trying to pound their front door to splinters, looking down at Brennan in surprise when she giggled, just then realizing what he'd said. His lips twitched as he dropped another kiss on his wife's grinning lips. "You have a dirty mind, Bones," he teased causing her to laugh harder. _God, he loved to hear her laugh, she didn't do it nearly enough and it always made him feel so special when he coaxed laughter from the far too serious woman._ Giving her a wink, he grabbed his shirt from the floor and pulled it over his head, heading toward the door to give their unwelcome guests a piece of his mind.

"Maybe I should answer the door," Brennan suggested, grabbing his arm and glancing down pointedly. With a grin, Booth raised an eyebrow at her own state of dishabille, his eyes running slowly down the almost bare body before him, really making it necessary for Brennan to answer the door. With a wicked wink, she quickly straightened her clothing and headed for the door while Booth found himself a seat on the sofa. It wasn't like whoever was there couldn't tell what they had been doing with one look at Brennan but he saw no reason to give them a show. He was pleased with his decision when Brennan opened the door and greeted their visitors.

"Dad, Daniel, what are you doing here?" She blinked at her visitors as they began to fidget and look at each other uncomfortably.

"Can we come in, Honey?" Max asked, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. Brennan's eyes narrowed. She knew both of these men well enough to know they were up to something. Most probably something she wasn't going to like. Stepping back, she waved her arm graciously, indicating they should enter. Stepping into the living room, both men greeted Booth and seated themselves as Brennan sat down beside her husband and unselfconsciously snuggled into his side.

"Why are you here, Dad?" Brennan asked in that delightfully direct way she had. Max and Daniel both grinned then their expressions turned grim.

"Honey, I, we," he said, pointing to himself and Daniel, "don't want you to go to Nicaragua." Holding up his hand to stall her outburst, his eyes pleaded with her to let him at least finish before she eviscerated him for his presumption. "Baby, there is no way General Hood's plan can guarantee your safety and I couldn't bear to lose you for good. Not now, when we have a chance to be a real family again." Booth's arm tightened around Brennan's shoulders as he felt the physical impact her father's words and the raw truth behind them had on her. "We want you to let us take you somewhere safe until this is all over." He finished simply leaning back against his chair as if the little speech had exhausted him, his eyes never leaving his daughter's face. He had little hope she would comply with his request but, as her father, he had to try. And yes, he knew he should have discussed it with her husband first but being filled in on what the government wanted her to do had sent him into a panic and he had decided to just approach her directly. It was something she understood and respected. Besides, he simply didn't have time to come up with something devious.

Brennan looked at her father, touched by his words, even touched by his obvious desire to protect her. It was something that had been missing from her life for far too long and she had needed it when she was 15 and he had abandoned her and her brother. But she didn't need it any longer. She loved her father and appreciated his concern, but had to wonder if he knew her at all to think she would be willing to let him and Daniel snatch her away to someplace they deemed safe while people she loved walked directly into danger using a plan with a much lower probability of success without her participation.

"No." Booth was surprised at the softness of her voice considering the way her hand was gripping his thigh. Brennan held up her own hand when Max leaned forward to object to her answer, silently telling him to afford her the same courtesy of allowing her to finish without interruption. "Dad, I appreciate that you are concerned for my physical well being, but these are terrible men who have perpetrated unspeakable atrocities against an unknown number of individuals and I have to at least attempt to impede their endeavors." Her eyes flashed to Booth's as he placed his hand over the one squeezing his thigh and gave it a squeeze of encouragement. Booth knew she was feeling some very strong emotions right now, she always retreated behind fancy words when that happened. He just wasn't entirely sure what the feelings were, but he was about to find out.

"And they will be stopped, Red. You just don't have to be the one to do it," insisted Daniel, almost pleading with Brennan to reconsider. Brennan gave the Congressman a soft smile, she had been royally pissed at him earlier but she recognized that he cared about her and was a good friend so she had already forgiven him.

"By whom then, Daniel?" she inquired with real interest.

"By the military, Honey. Let them do their job." Max leaned forward, excited because he thought she was wavering. Brennan's hand tightened in Booth's as she turned her full attention back to her father.

"And what about the people they're hurting, Dad? The military has been trying to get someone close enough to remove Perez for more than a year now. How many more people will die before they finally succeed?" Her head dropped and she took a deep shuddering breath before raising her head and spearing the two men seated across from her with a look of such resolve and determination that they knew they had lost. "I know what that monster is capable of, Dad," her voice shook with so many emotions it was impossible to identify all of them, but Booth caught the horror and fury quite clearly. "General Hood has asked for my assistance and I refuse to be a coward any longer. I _will _do what I can to end this reign of terror." It took Booth a few seconds to process her words and he was stunned. _She thought she was a coward? No freaking way. She was one of the bravest people he knew. _

"What?" he gasped, turning her face toward him with a finger under her chin. "Hey, you are _not_ a coward," he insisted earnestly, but she refused to meet his eyes. He tipped her chin up further and leaned down until he was looking into her eyes, "You are not a coward," he reiterated.

"Yes, I am, Booth. I was scared after what Perez did to me. I changed my whole life because of it. I need to do this, Booth. For me." He knew in that instant he wouldn't be trying to talk her out of going to Nicaragua. To do that would be like denying her the right to be herself and he couldn't do that to her. Before he could try to further convince her she wasn't in any way cowardly, Max grasped at his final straw in talking his daughter out of walking placidly into danger.

"Booth, I can't believe you want her on this mission!" Max knew it was dirty but he was desperate. Brennan's eyes widened as her husband continued to meet her gaze, never even glancing at her father.

"What? You don't want me to go? You don't want my help?" she whispered, clearly hurt by the thought. Leaning his forehead against hers and cupping her cheek in his palm, he could be nothing less than honest with her.

"No, I don't want you to go," he held her in place when she tried to move away from him, hurt shining in her big blue eyes. "Not because I don't want your help but because I don't want you in danger, Baby. I don't want you to go but I won't try to stop you," He saw the hurt fade as she slowly nodded in understanding and she did understand. She wasn't exactly thrilled at the danger Booth or any of her old team would be in on this mission but she would never dream of asking them not to do something they felt they had to do and this was one of those things for her. With a soft kiss to her lips, Booth turned his attention to Max, allowing some aggravation to shine through.

"Low blow, Max. Thanks a lot," he growled. Max shrugged not looking the least little bit apologetic.

"She's my daughter, Booth. I had to give it a shot."

"I'm going, Dad. Deal with it." Booth shot a quick look at his wife when she used the colloquialism correctly to find her grinning proudly up at him. He couldn't hold back his laughter. Max and Daniel found their lips twitching as well as they watched Brennan's excitement over something so simple.

"Okay, ok, I know when I'm beat," Max admitted defeat with a sad smile. "We should be going," he announced to the room in general, his eyes telling Booth that he wanted a private word. Willing to give him that, Booth untangled his giggling wife from his arms and stood, offering to see the two men out. He stood aside as each man hugged his wife fiercely, protectively then stepped into the hallway of the apartment and closed the door behind him. Both men turned toward him and started talking the instant the door shut. Booth held up a hand to indicate he couldn't understand both of them at once and Daniel took the lead.

"Anything that Robins planned or had access to is suspect, Booth. Don't trust the information if it came from him." Booth had gotten that Brennan or the team didn't consider him trustworthy at the Pentagon meeting so he was willing to believe Daniel. "I think Rodrigo has someone else on the planning team but I can't find out who, so be careful." _This was just getting better and better_. He already had reservations about the mission and now Daniel was telling him not to trust anyone. They had to be able to trust at least one person in power and as powerful as Daniel was, he couldn't help in this situation.

"What about Hood?" he asked the Congressman bluntly. Daniel smiled.

"Frank and I have been friends for twenty-five years. I would bet my life on his trustworthiness." Booth could see Daniel believed his words but he had to be sure.

"But you're not betting your life, Daniel. You're betting the life of my wife and your son so you'd better be damn sure." Daniel's gaze didn't waver.

"You can trust him, Booth," Booth knew Daniel would never knowingly place Brennan and his son in danger so he guessed that the older man's confidence in Hood's trustworthiness would just have to be good enough as they didn't have a lot of other choices.

"Ok, then, Hood it is," Booth acknowledged.

"Booth," Max reached out and gripped his forearm tightly, "I know you won't let anything happen to my daughter, but watch your own back. This Perez wants to get his hands on my baby pretty badly and the only way that's going to happen is with you out of the way. If he knows that, you will be his primary target." Booth was touched by Max's concern but, in typical male fashion, turned it into a joke.

"Max, I didn't know you cared." Max shot him a laughing look at the words, but his answer was serious.

"She loves you, Booth, and I want her to be happy. I don't think she would survive losing you, so take care of both of you over there." Booth found himself choked up over Max's words and didn't resist when the older man pulled him into a tight hug. He was further surprised when Daniel also hugged him, not used to all the male touching but willing to endure it as it meant he had been accepted as Brennan's primary protector by the father figures in her life.

"I will keep her safe," he vowed to the two men before returning inside the apartment. To his surprise, Brennan wasn't in the living room or kitchen.

Wandering down the hallway, he finally located her in their bathroom, immersed from just below her shoulders in a steaming tub of bubbles, her head resting against the back of the tub and her eyes closed. Leaning on the doorframe, he took a moment to just look at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, his earlier hard on springing to full attention at the knowledge she was wearing bubbles and absolutely nothing else.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked softly and her eyes opened languidly, a playful smile drifting across her face.

"I was just thinking." Her eyes beckoned him closer. He pushed off the doorway and ambled to the tub, sitting down on the side, a single finger reaching out to swipe through the bubbles resting just below her collarbones.

"Oh yeah, about what?" he asked softly as his fingers came into contact with skin and her eyes drifted closed. This close he could see the way her nipples pebbled at the first brush of his finger across her silky skin and suddenly he wanted her to ask for what she wanted. Explicitly.

"Well, we won't have access to modern conveniences when we're in Nicaragua, so I thought we should enjoy them while we can," she opened her eyes to meet the laughing eyes of her husband. He knew exactly what she wanted, but she knew how to use her words and he was going to make her ask for it.

"That makes sense," his finger moved slowly down between her breasts to her belly button then just as slowly back up before he removed his hand from the bubbles wiping it dry on a towel and standing up. "Enjoy your bath," he told her, having to hurriedly turn away to hide his grin at the disgruntled expression on her face.

"Seeley Booth," she snapped before he could take even one step. Getting his amusement under control, he turned back to face her with a politely inquiring expression firmly in place.

"Did you want something, Bones?" he asked politely, unable to hide his smile as her eyes narrowed. He swallowed hard at the sultry look she pinned him with as she patted the side of the tub where he'd been sitting earlier. Unable to resist he sat back down knowing she had just taken control of his little game and not caring. Her hand came out of the water and began tracing patterns on his thigh as she held his darkening eyes.

"I was also thinking we won't have a lot of privacy in Nicaragua," Booth had to struggle to keep his attention on her words and not the hand that inching higher and higher on his thigh, nearing but not touching his erection. Subtle she was not, so he clearly understood she was telling him they would most likely be abstaining from making love while on this mission. Placing a hand on the other side of the tub, Booth leaned in until his lips were only a hairsbreadth from hers.

"So you think we should take advantage of our privacy while we can?" he was only teasing her now and she knew it. She smiled at him as if he had just solved all the mysteries of the universe.

"Yes," she told him, the innocence in her voice betrayed by the searing heat in her eyes. One hand lifted to slip under the hem of his t-shirt and trace over his abdominal muscles, his breath catching at the heat emanating from that one hand, his gut and abs tightening at the feel of her fingers stroking his flesh. "I also thought if we combine the two activities, we will be able to enjoy more of each in the limited amount of time we have available."

"I concur, vehemently," Booth whispered as his lips descended taking hers almost roughly as she surged up on to her knees in the water, her arms locking around his neck, soaking his shirt instantly. Not that he cared, he wasn't planning on wearing it long, anyway. She, apparently, had the same thought as both of her hands worked under the t-shirt, peeling it up his torso, her hot skin coming into contact with each inch of his chest as it was revealed, both sighing at the increased contact. Jerking the t-shirt over his head, Brennan flung it aside, wanting him as naked as she was.

Booth, caught up in her urgency and hard as a rock, turned more fully toward her almost tumbling into the bathtub. Pulling back slightly, he tried to slow Brennan down, to at least get out of his clothes before joining her in the tub, but she was having none of that.

"Baby, slow down," he whispered, sucking on her neck, while his hands stroked her breasts, thumbs flicking across distended nipples, which, granted, probably wasn't the best way to slow her down, but he couldn't seem to stop touching her. "I need to get out of my clothes to get in the tub so you're going to have to give me a minute," he almost pleaded as her hands went to his belt buckle and her ravenous mouth returned to his, nipping, licking, and sucking until he barely remembered his own name, much less what he had been saying. But he certainly understood her answer.

"No. Counter. Now." She demanded and being the good little soldier he had been trained to be, he knew how to follow orders, especially when her hot little hand slipped inside his pants and underwear to grasp his straining erection, her thumb repeatedly flicking across the satiny tip, before moving to stroke his entire length. With a growl, he lifted her out of the tub, ignoring the water streaming from her perfect body and making a mess, setting her on the counter and stepping between her spread thighs.

Brennan was almost frantic to have Booth inside her. She had gotten the idea of luring him into the tub the instant he stepped outside with her father and Daniel, hurrying to be ready when he came back in and she was more than ready. Lying back in the steamy water, thinking about how Booth had been touching her earlier and how she wanted him to touch her now and vice versa, she found her hands wandering over her body, only able to make herself stop when she heard him in the bedroom, knowing he would more than take care of the aching emptiness between her thighs that he was responsible for. Eagerly grasping and pumping his erection only tightened the knot of desire low in her belly and she whimpered as he stepped back, forcing her to release her hold on his penis.

Booth had to step back or he was going to come before he even got his pants off. Brennan wasn't playing around. She was more than a little eager for them to both reach satisfaction and he could guess why, but didn't really care. It turned him on to see her touch herself and he wished he had witnessed her getting this hot but was more than happy to reap the benefits. Pushing his soaked pants down, he kicked them aside and stepped back to his wife, pushing her legs wider apart so his aching cock was nestled against her hot, wet center. She instantly locked her legs around his waist and tried to pull him closer, whimpering again when he held back, her hands all over him. Tilting her face up to his with one hand, he waited on her to open her eyes and look at him as the other hand landed on her hip, dragging her even further forward and tilting her pelvis slightly.

"I love you, Mrs. Seeley Booth," he said as he planted himself firmly within her tight sheath. She had to fight to keep her eyes open and hold back her orgasm at just his words. They did it to her every time and he knew it, but that was okay she had her own words that were just as effective on him. Unable to hold back low moans as he began to thrust into her almost roughly, which was exactly what she wanted, her hands raced over him as her mouth licked and sucked on every inch of skin she could reach. Feeling the first flutters of her orgasm, she knew there was no way she could stop it this time, the pleasure promising to be so intense, she didn't even try. Raising her head from sucking on his nipple, she deliberately tightened her internal muscles as she met his eyes.

"I love you, Mr. Seeley Booth," and she let herself go, let herself fall into pure sensation as her throbbing core tightened then exploded into the intense pleasure of release only this man could give her. Booth's hands gripped her hips and pulled her almost off the counter and more fully onto his thrusting hardness, her shaking, shuddering body and inner contractions sending him over the edge, even if the words hadn't already started a climax he had no hope of holding back. Those words always got him right in the gut, he wasn't sure why but thought it might be because she never objected to being called by his name, denoting that she belonged to him and nothing could make him hotter than that thought, except her answer which linked them forever in his mind.

Mindlessly thrusting against her as his gut grew painfully tight and his thighs began to quake, he sucked on her neck, groaning her name against the soft, fragrant skin as he released control and emptied himself inside her. Scooting her butt back on the counter as she collapsed weakly against him, he leaned his weight on his arms to keep from collapsing on her or dropping to the floor until his legs had enough strength to support them. Her body suddenly shaking against his made him pull back far enough to see her face where it rested against his shoulder. Her laughing eyes met his and he grinned back having no idea what had triggered her amusement.

"You know, Booth, this could become a never ending cycle," she told him between giggles at his lack of understanding. "I need another bath," she explained and he began to see the source of her amusement.

"And if I join you, you think we'll make love again," he had to laugh at the Oh, please look she gave him, she had that one down pat and was absolutely correct in her assumption.

"So, it's a conundrum?" he asked.

"Yes, if we take a shower, we'll need another one before we even finish." Leaning forward, Booth caught her lips in a deep, possessive kiss.

"I'm willing to chance it if you are," he told her softly, stepping back and holding out his hand. Wiggling off the counter, she took his hand, willing to chance almost anything with him by her side.


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry for the delay, guys, but I got nothing done when I was out of town and am playing catch up. This one is a little shorter than usual, but I hope you enjoy it. Please remember to review. They motivate Musie to write more.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

They made it out of the shower with only ten minutes to spare before they were invaded, as Booth thought of Brennan's former teams visits. Laughing, they trooped into the apartment, carrying enough Chinese take out to feed an army. Deciding to eat before they got down to business, they all settled around the dining room table, the conversation surprisingly light and pleasant with Brennan joining in more than Booth had ever seen her do, even with her family. She was completely comfortable with these people and trusted them implicitly. His jealousy over those facts had faded and he was now just glad she'd had other people in her life to show her what a special person she was. Brennan laughed at Booth's shock when her boys finished off the Chinese, telling him they could and would eat anything, but refusing to go into details at the pleas from her team. Her slow wink told Booth she would tell him later, if he really wanted to know.

As soon as the table was cleared, the people around it turned serious. Nathaniel pulled out a backpack and starting pulling out blueprints of some kind of compound, rolling them out on the table. Grant removed blueprints from his own pack and rolled them out alongside Nathaniel's.

"Notice anything?" Nathaniel asked as Booth's eyes ran over the plans. Booth's eyes immediately noted differences in the plans. Most of them were subtle, appearing to be escape tunnels or some other type of subterranean structures. There were also a couple of glaring differences.

"Perez's compound?" Nathaniel nodded as Booth's finger ran over a gun turret that would provide cover fire for more than 75% of the outside of the walled compound and was noticeably absent from the other set of plans. "Which set were we provided by the State Department?" Booth demanded, lifting eyes glinting with anger to Nathaniel's, because he already knew, in his gut, they had been provided incomplete plans for the mission. His gut feeling was confirmed when Nathaniel tapped the incomplete set of blueprints. "Are you sure the other set is accurate and up to date?" Nathaniel smiled approvingly at Booth's questions.

"Yeah, I'm sure, but this tells us we have a serious problem. We can't trust any information from the State Department without independent confirmation and we just don't have that kind of time." Booth agreed with Nathaniel's assessment. The entire mission had been compromised before they even got off the ground and you could bet if they were being fed faulty info, the bad guys were being told about their plans and movements in real time. But, whoever was doing this was smart, Booth thought, noting the dates on the plans. Even if they were able to trace down the traitor, he could always say that they had been given out of date blueprints by mistake and they couldn't prove differently. _Shit,_ thought Booth, _this had just turned into the equivalent of a suicide mission if they couldn't trust their own people. No way could he be ok with Brennan walking into that kind of situation. _

Looking up to inform Nathaniel of that, Booth saw that Nathaniel wasn't at all bothered by having a traitor in their midst and that could mean only one thing. He had a backup plan that was completely independent of their current resources. Noting a slight nod from Nathaniel to Alex, Booth held his silence while Brennan was practically dragged out of the room by Alex and Garret, claiming they needed to show her something important. Booth's eyebrow lifted. Nathaniel obviously didn't want Brennan to overhear this part of the conversation and he wasn't sure how he felt about that but didn't really have time to ponder on it as Nathaniel started speaking as soon as Brennan left the room.

"She can't be involved in this, Booth. There is no way we can guarantee her safety and I won't have her death on my conscience," he stated concisely, unaware that his voice clearly revealed much deeper feelings than friendship for the good doctor. Ignoring the other man's affection for his wife, Booth looked him steadily in the eye.

"What's the backup plan?" Nathaniel looked surprised and approving that Booth had figured out he had a backup plan, but was almost reluctant to share the details. Not that he didn't trust the man, but if he had his way neither Booth nor Brennan would be going with them. It was just too dangerous for civilians, he told himself, knowing his urge to keep her and the man she loved safe went much deeper than that, but unwilling to admit it even to himself.

"We go in, take out the bad guys and hopefully get out in one piece." Booth rolled his eyes at Nathaniel's facetious tone, crossed his arms over his chest and maintained his steady gaze until the younger man began to fidget under the unwavering regard. _Damn, I'm good_, Booth congratulated himself with an inner smile.

"We have a secondary team on standby, ready to deploy and meet us once we arrive in Nicaragua. We disappear, throwing out targets off balance, move in, take them out and just walk away." Booth knew the plan was much more complicated than that but it was actually a brilliant strategic move to go in like they were following the plan the bad guys knew about then disappear. It should definitely throw them off their game and give the good guys the advantage, at least short term.

"How many men? Are they military?"

"Thirty or so and not exactly," Nathaniel grinned at Booth's look of confusion. _How could they be not exactly military? It was like being pregnant. You either were in the military or you weren't. _Before Booth could ask, Grant took pity on him and explained.

"We all," pointed to the three soldiers in the room and the living room, indicating Alex and Garrett, "called in some favors and put together a back up team from ex-military guys that owe us or just want Rodrigo or Perez dead. Trust me that list is a hell of a lot longer than thirty, but we didn't think we could risk a larger force without being detected too soon." Booth's eyes narrowed as he considered what he had been told.

"These men, how good are they?" Nathaniel, Grant and even Gavin, who had been assigned to guard duty to warn them of Brennan's return, grinned at him. That meant they were very, very good, Booth knew, unprepared for what he was told next.

"Booth," Grant assured him quietly, "we put this together as if Red was going with us and her protection was our primary objective. Taking out Perez and Rodrigo was considered our secondary objective. The soldiers we chose range from Special Forces to Navy Seals to Army Rangers, but not one of them is without specialized training. Even though they're not in the military now, they are still the best of the best. We don't take chances with her life." _Yet another man willing to lay his life down for his wife_, Booth thought. _Was the list endless?_ Not that it really bothered him anymore, he was just curious. He was also curious about something else Grant had said.

"You think you can keep Bones away from this mission?" he asked Grant quietly. Nathaniel and Grant exchanged a quick, almost uncomfortable look before Nathaniel turned back to Booth.

"No, but we think you can." Booth snorted and shot the two men an Oh, please look that had them grinning as they both remembered how successful they had been trying to get Brennan to do what they wanted. She was really, really bad at the whole following orders thing and refused to honor the military hierarchy, driving most of their superior's nuts. They had long ago labeled her attitude charmingly eccentric and just followed her around, pulling her ass out of the fire as necessary. Nathaniel was beginning to get that Booth and Brennan would most likely be joining them on this mission but he wanted Booth to understand exactly what was at stake.

"You understand that this could bite us in the ass? The CIA will be all over it when Rodrigo disappears. Plus he won't be easy to get to and he's only part of the problem." Booth knew that but was a little unsure what Nathaniel was obviously trying to tell him.

"What is it you're trying to say, Nathaniel?" he asked quietly.

"I'm saying you don't have to do anything, Booth. My team made this mess by not making sure the bastards were dead when we had the chance and we'll clean it up. We will take care Rodrigo and then go after Perez. Maybe you should just stay here and take care of Red, keep her out of trouble." Booth ignored the forced smile Nathaniel sent his way, not sure whether to be insulted that they didn't think they needed his help or honored that they felt he could keep Bones safe. He decided to go with neither, focusing on how ridiculous it was for them to try to shield him, an army trained ex-sniper, from danger.

"Nathaniel, have you read my file?" Booth asked quietly, surprised when Nathaniel shook his head.

"No, but I know you were a sniper," Booth didn't ask why the other man hadn't demanded to see his file when he was included on the mission, he was sure it had something to do with Brennan and if that was the case, he didn't want to know.

"Do you know how many kills I had as a sniper?" This is something Booth usually wouldn't have talked about under torture but they needed to come to an understanding if this mission had any chance of success. He had a lot more questions before he could fully endorse their backup plan but they needed to get this out of the way or the whole conversation was pointless. "Forty-nine and I was never spotted," he told the two men when they shook their heads. He was by no means proud of what he had done, but if them knowing what he was capable of made them believe in his abilities, he was willing to share. After all, this was ultimately about keeping his Bones safe and that was always his primary objective, but he needed a hell of a lot of reassurances himself before he committed himself or his wife. Now that all the male posturing was out of the way, maybe they could get down to business. Booth hid his grin as that thought flitted through his head, it sounded exactly like something Bones would say.

"What about firepower, money, transportation?" he rattled off the questions noting both men were looking at him with a little more respect than he'd ever noticed before. Without hesitation, Nathaniel answered his questions.

"Everything we need is well covered, Booth. It's just not on the books."

_Wonderful, they would be running black ops which meant that if it went to hell which was a good possibility; their own government would have plausible deniability. You just had to love the way bureaucrats covered their asses while leaving everyone else hanging in the wind. Not. _

"Who's in charge?" Booth knew that officially the mission didn't exist, therefore, no one was, technically in charge, but they needed to be able to trust this person with their lives so he considered this critical, need to know information. Nathaniel agreed that the man had the right to know whose hand he was putting his life and the life of the woman he loved into.

"Hood." Booth nodded, relieved at that information, trusting in Daniels assertion that the man could be trusted. "We also have a system worked out with my father where we contact him every eight hours. If we fail to check in, he has instructions to follow from there." Booth met Nathaniel's level look knowing if they missed a scheduled check in there was really no point in sending a rescue team in after them, chances were they would already be dead. If not, they certainly would be before a rescue could be attempted. The thirty men they had recruited, plus Nathaniel, Alex, Garrett, Gavin, Grant, Bones and himself represented their only chance to stop two monsters from wreaking untold torment on immeasurable lives. _Was he willing to risk his life, the life of his wife to do this?_ That was what it all came down to. Before he could begin to make up his mind, Brennan's voice had him spinning toward the door.

"When do we leave?" she asked quietly, making it apparent she had overheard a significant portion of the conversation without a peep from their lookout or the other two who were assigned to keep her occupied. Nathaniel and Booth sent the three men identical glares for failing in their missions, but they just shrugged sheepishly and Brennan scoffed at their intimidation techniques.

"Red, I don't think you should go," Nathaniel began only to be cut off when her blazing blue eyes turned his way.

"Yes, Nathaniel, I actually got that," she snapped and Booth winced in sympathy. She was pissed and, for once, it wasn't aimed at him, but he found he wasn't enjoying her displeasure with the other man as much as he thought he would. Nathaniel was, after all, just thinking of her safety. To his own astonishment, he stepped in to diffuse the situation.

"Come on, Bones. Give him a break. He was just worried about your safety," he cajoled, wincing as her narrowed eyes moved to him. _Maybe, he should have let Nathaniel fend for himself. _

"Yes, Booth. I also ascertained that," her voice wasn't one iota warmer toward him than it had been with Nathaniel. _Oh, yeah, he should have stayed out of it._ Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned back to Nathaniel.

"Tell me, Nathaniel, statistically speaking, what is the probability of successfully terminating both targets without my participation?" she asked calmly, raising an eyebrow and tapping her foot impatiently until he nodded for Gavin to answer her.

"Without heavy casualities, we have a less than an 8% probability of getting to Perez without you. With heavy casualties, that increases to only a 15% probability of success." Gavin stated the information without inflection, clearly not desiring to enter the war of whether Brennan went with them or stayed behind. To his mind, she was extremely intelligent and perfectly capable of making her own choices. Of course, he would rather have her safe but he really didn't see her staying behind and he didn't want her to be pissed at him the entire trip.

"Leaving an 85% probability of total mission failure?" She didn't take her eyes off staring down Nathaniel, but shot a smile of approval toward Gavin. "How do those odds change with my presence, Gavin?" she asked softly. This time Gavin answered without looking to Nathaniel for approval. He knew she would get the information one way or the other and it made his life easier to just give it up.

"With you present, statistics say we have a 90% chance of luring Perez out of his compound, cutting the force we would be facing at least in half. We estimate no casualties with this scenario. But, Red, this is just an estimation. There are a lot of factors to be considered and each one changes the statistical outcome," he felt the need to point out just in case she thought he was encouraging her to be bait, which he certainly was not. He wanted that to be clear to her, Nathaniel and her hard eyed husband who was now glaring at him in a threatening way. Pulling her attention from Nathaniel, she turned to Gavin giving him a warm smile and patting his arm affectionately.

"Thank you, Gavin." He had to grin back but wiped the smile off his face when he saw Nathaniel and Booth both now glaring at him. Fortunately, Brennan captured their attention as she stalked to the table, slapped her palms flat on its surface and leaned forward threateningly, glaring at Nathaniel. "Now, you tell me, Nathaniel, which one of those casualties' lives is less important than mine? Which person's family do you come home and tell that they'll never see their father or son again because you wanted me to be safe? Do we stand beside Sara and Nicole as we watch them bury another member of their family just like we did with Steven? Or do I get to be the one to tell your father that my cowardice cost him his son?" Booth was out of his chair instantly as her voice wavered and thickened with tears. "Because, I can't, I won't ever do that again, Nathaniel. I need to do this to make things right and you need to let me," she turned into Booth's waiting arms as the tears started to fall.

Closing his arms protectively around his sobbing wife, Booth met Nathaniel's eyes over her head. His decision on whether to participate in this mission had just been made for him. Bones needed to do this and he would follow her to hell and back to keep her safe so he figured Nicaragua wasn't so far to go. Booth could see Nathaniel didn't like it but he accepted that the decision had been made. _Nicaragua here we come_ and _God help us all_ went through the two men's minds almost simultaneously.


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry for the delay, everyone. I'm still having problems, but my internet people tell me it is not my internet connection and my computer people tell me it is not my computer, so I am currently at a loss but hope to get it resolved soon. Thanks for the reviews and keep up the good work, please.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth glanced over at his sleeping wife and quietly slipped out of his seat on the private airplane, approaching the group of men gathered around a conference table in the back room to get filled in on any new details. Less than 30 hours after they all accepted that they _were_ going to do this, they were in the air on their way to Nicaragua. They might have all preferred a little more time to prepare, but moving swiftly could also have its advantages. The main one being no one was likely to catch on to their change in plans with so little time to scrutinize their actions and movements. They had done everything they could to ensure their safe return from home. The rest was in their own capable hands and those of God.

Booth was surprised when the radio at Nathaniel's waist began to squawk and the men rose en masse, Gavin moving to open a compartment and starting to toss out what Booth easily identified as parachutes from his ranger days. Nathaniel spoke heatedly into his radio, then headed for the cockpit, fury in every step. Alex walked over to Booth and slapped a parachute against his chest.

"How long since you jumped, Ranger?"

"Not nearly long enough," he muttered, ignoring Alex's laughter at his answer. Turning to go wake Brennan, Booth was stopped in his tracks by the most ear splitting whistle he'd ever had the misfortune to hear, but it apparently did the trick as Brennan's head instantly popped over the seat, looking around in confusion. It also told him where Brennan had learned to make almost the same sound.

"Up and at em, Red. We're ditching the ride," Alex yelled. Brennan nodded, her eyes searching out Booth as she calmly stood, grabbed their personal packs and headed toward the men.

"What's going on?" she questioned Alex while taking the parachute he held out and expertly wiggling into it and her backpack. Booth was beginning to get the idea she had done this before. Taking his backpack from her, he expertly donned his own equipment.

"We're being diverted and Nathaniel didn't like it." Brennan nodded, offering not one word of complaint or argument. Booth looked at her in disbelief, she argued with him about the day of the week and now she wasn't going to say a word about them ditching a perfectly good airplane? Not that he was complaining, mind you. It just shocked the hell out of him. But, he didn't have time to dwell on it as Nathaniel came striding back down the aisle, cursing colorfully enough to raise Booth's eyebrows.

"Rodrigo had us diverted. He wants to take "custody" of Red to assure her safety while we're in his country," he spat.

"Son of a bitch," cursed Booth, running a hand through his hair. They all nodded their agreement at his assessment of the current situation. This in no way resembled the plan they had been fed, the one they weren't using, but, hey, it still pissed them off that either this had been the plan all along and they had all been duped or Rodrigo was striking out on his own in a big way by trying to take Brennan as a hostage. Neither boded well for their little group, but considering they were thousands of feet in the air well into hostile territory, their options were limited at the moment.

"What are we going to do?" Brennan asked quietly, although she already knew, she just wanted to confirm details. Nathaniel spared her a grin, before turning back to his men.

"Ok, boys, listen up. We're currently having engine trouble and losing altitude. We are unable to divert at this time. We'll be at jump height in less than six minutes, so grab your packs and weapons and get ready. Jump buddy rules," he reminded as his crew calmly secured weapons to their persons. Handing Booth a sniper rifle, he then turned to Brennan and held out a pistol like he was giving her a gift. Seeing the smile that spread across his wife's face as she took the proffered weapon, Booth thought she might feel the same way.

"Are you certified to jump, Ranger?" Nathaniel barked at Booth. They had all started calling him that since the night they had decided to go on this mission and Booth hadn't objected because he knew it was their way of accepting him into their little group but it was really starting to get on his nerves.

"No, Nathaniel, I haven't jumped in years." He'd had no reason to, dammit, he wasn't in the military anymore and it had never dawned on him they would be jumping out of a plane in the middle of a Nicaraguan rain forest.

"I am," piped in Brennan. _Of course she was_, Booth thought as her team smiled at her approvingly. "So Booth can jump with me," she offered, looking down to make sure all her buckles were well fastened, missing the looks of horror that flashed across the faces of five of the men present. There was no way she could miss the shouts of "NO!" from all five of them at once. Laughing, Nathaniel just shook his head at Booth's inquiring look.

"I'll tell you later. Sorry, Red, but no. Alex, Grant you take the Ranger. I've got Red and the twins." Booth didn't like being separated from Brennan but he understood the necessity. As the only two snipers of the group, he and Nathaniel had an important role to play in the upcoming showdown with Perez. They couldn't jump together, taking the chance that they would both be injured or captured, if Rodrigo had anticipated their response to his tactics and had people waiting on the ground. And there should only be one uncertified or inexperienced jumper with each group which didn't leave a whole lot of choices other than he and Brennan being temporarily separated. Pulling her away from the group, he pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face in her fragrant hair.

"Please be careful," he whispered as her arms went about his waist, squeezing tightly.

"I will," she promised. "You be careful, too. I love you, Booth." Pulling back, he cupped her face in his hands and smiled down into her beautiful face.

"I love you, too, Baby," he whispered, lowering his head and kissing her so tenderly it brought tears to her eyes. He only pulled back when Alex cleared his throat loudly right beside them.

"Sorry, guys," he offered with a shrug, "but it's time to go." With another quick hug, Brennan turned and hurried toward Nathaniel and the twins who were already waiting by the door of the plane. Muscling the door of the plane open took some doing but the three men managed it and it was away with a monstrous grinding noise, a sudden change of cabin pressure and an unbelievable amount of wind sweeping through the cabin. Gavin and Garrett jumped first. With one final look, a smile and a wink at Booth, Brennan turned and threw herself out the door with abandon. She was having a ball, Booth realized. Darting forward, Booth grabbed Nathaniel's arm just as he started to step forward. The two men's eyes met and without a word being spoken, Booth told Nathaniel he was trusting him with the most important thing in his life to keep her safe and Nathaniel told Booth he would die to do just that. Nodding at each other, Booth let go of Nathaniel's arm and he followed Brennan out the door.

Seconds later, the pilot came striding down the aisle, having already donned his parachute and walked straight up to Booth, saluting him. Booth was astonished. The young man then grinned and stuck out his hand.

"Sergeant Booth, I'm Captain Jonas Craig, United States Air Force. It's an honor to meet you, Sir." Booth took the proffered hand. The kid looked a little familiar, but Booth was good with faces and he didn't think they had ever met.

"I'm sorry, Captain, but do I know you?" The kid laughed, flashing deep dimples in both cheeks and at the sight and the name Booth's memory stirred.

"I know you're too old to be Joe's son but you have to be related to him," the young man laughed, impressed that Booth had made the connection.

"He's my uncle, Sir, and he talks about you all the time." Booth grinned, but was interrupted by Alex.

"If you two girls are finished with your little tea party, maybe you'd like to get out of here before the plane goes down." Rolling their eyes at the other man's sarcasm, Booth and Jonas followed Alex and Grant down the aisle.

"How is your uncle?" Booth yelled above the rushing wind.

"Waiting on the ground and eager to serve with you again, Sir," the kid yelled back, then he looked at Booth uncertainly, chewing his bottom lip like he wanted to say something but couldn't quite get it out.

"Spit it out, son," Booth ordered, easily slipping back into military mode.

"Well, Sir, it's just that my uncle said a couple of things…," he trailed off and Booth wondered what horror stories his uncle had fed the kid. They had always been very good friends, seeing each other at least a couple of times a year to this day and as far as Booth knew, Joe wouldn't have anything that bad to say about him.

"What did he say?" demanded Booth as Grant jumped and Alex motioned him forward.

"He said you were the best shot he'd ever seen, Sir, but that you couldn't jump worth shit and whatever I did to not crash the damn plane." Booth could see the kid was actually worried about his uncle's reaction to his instructions not being followed. Clapping the kid on the shoulder, he gave him a grin.

"Don't worry about it, kid. We'll blame the whole thing on Nathaniel." Seeing the grin spread across the kid's face, Booth turned back and jumped out of a plane for the first time in over 15 years with a smile on his face.

Forty minutes later, Alex, Booth and Grant finally found the kid. He'd had the bad luck of his parachute getting caught pretty high up in a tree and when he'd released the chute, the height of the fall had buckled his ankle. Grant, who was also a medic, didn't think it was broken but it was badly sprained and wouldn't support any weight. Wrapping the ankle tightly and giving the kid something for pain, Grant stood and motioned Alex and Booth to the side.

"There's no way he can walk on that ankle. We've only got about 12 miles to hoof it to the rendezvous point, but it will be dark soon and this doesn't warrant breaking radio silence. What do you want to do?" he asked the other men's opinions. Alex looked thoughtful. Fortunately, they had planned for every contingency they could think of and although no one had actually thought they would be ditching the plane, they had been able to radio their ground forces their jump positions. Unfortunately, the forest they were in was so dense that there was no way air transport could get in and they would have to walk to a more accessible point to be picked up. The rendezvous Grant had spoken of was just to meet up with Nathaniel's team then they would have to plot the best course to reach help. They had at least one good day's walk in front of them, if not more, and they needed to move as fast as possible because you could bet Rodrigo would have people in the area under the guise of searching for the downed plane asap.

"If we stay put tonight, will he be able to walk on the ankle tomorrow?" Alex's hopes were dashed as Grant snorted.

"No, Alex, he won't be walking on that ankle for a couple of weeks." They both noted that Booth had wandered off at the same time, looking around and spotting him, busily hacking down two saplings. Walking over, they eyed him curiously.

"What are you doing, Ranger?" asked Alex casually. Not bothering to look up, Booth continued with his task, felling the first tree and turning his attention to the second.

"I'm making a stretcher. The kid can't walk, so we carry him. It's what Rangers do, _Alex_." Grinning at the sarcastic emphasis Booth placed on his name, Alex grabbed his own knife, squatted down and started stripping the felled sapling. Grant went back to check on Jonas and returned with the backpacks. They were the only thing the men had available strong enough to support the young man's weight and not give or tear. Redistributing everything, Grant was able to free up two of the larger packs and cut them into usable pieces. It wouldn't be elegant but it would work and they could be on their way. Working in silence, they were finished within the hour and still had about two hours of daylight left. Hefting the apologizing Jonas onto the stretcher, they started walking.

There was no way they would make the rendezvous point tonight and it made Booth almost frantic to think of Brennan being in the jungle overnight without him. He knew Nathaniel, Gavin and Garrett would keep her safe, but _what if she got scared? What if she was hurt? What if she needed him and he wasn't there?_ Catching Grant's eye, Alex jerked his head toward Booth. Grant eyed the very preoccupied man, then looked back at Alex, raising a brow. Alex nodded and Grant grinned.

"So, Booth, interested in hearing why we wouldn't let you jump with Red?" Booth's head jerked up at the mention of his wife, not even noticing that Grant had addressed him by name. The other three laughed at his quick response and Booth grinned sheepishly.

"I assume she's not very good at it," Booth responded then frowned at his answer. It was very unlike Brennan to be bad at anything, especially something she enjoyed as much as she seemed to like jumping.

"No," Grant answered softly, "she's actually very, very good." Booth's eyes narrowed.

"So why did everyone freak out when she suggested I jump with her?" he asked suspiciously. Alex put his hand to his chest indicating he took grave offense to Booth's words.

"I'll have you know soldiers trained by Special Forces do not freak out, Booth," Alex chided.

"Except when it comes to Red," Grant reminded the pair.

"Yep," agreed Alex, straight-faced, "Red has a way of freaking everyone out." Booth couldn't hold back his grin. He knew the two men were trying to distract him, to keep him from worrying about Brennan. They had accepted him into their group and were willing to let him earn a place among them but they were doing this because they loved her and knew it would upset her to know he was worrying so they were taking care of it. Looking at Jonas, who was laughing so hard at the three of them, the whole stretcher was shaking, his grin widened.

"Fine, Alex. Why did all you big, strong soldiers _object _to me jumping with my wife?" Alex nodded to let Booth know he appreciated the acknowledgement, but Jonas grabbed Booth's attention.

"Uncle Joe didn't tell me you were married. Congratulations, man," he offered sincerely.

"He didn't know and thank you," Booth started to turn back to Alex but the kid's eyes suddenly got as big as saucers and he gazed at Booth almost in awe.

"You're married to Red, I mean Dr. Brennan?" he almost croaked. Booth had no idea what was going on but Grant and Alex were both busting a gut laughing.

"Yes, Dr. Brennan is my wife," he answered the kid politely before turning on the guffawing Alex. "What the hell is so funny, Alex? And why is the kid acting like that, Grant? Just how much pain medicine did you give him?" he demanded, thinking back to his own experience with Vicodin.

"Relax, Booth. I only gave him Ibuprofen. I would think he's acting like that because your wife has a bit of a reputation," he answered placidly.

"Oh no," Jonas offered in a tone usually reserved for the pope, "she is legendary." Booth burst into laughter. He couldn't help it. The instant the words were out of the kid's mouth, the picture of Brennan rolling her eyes at the young man's words and tone and launching into a lecture on the exact meaning of his words popped into his head.

"Do I even want to know why she is so legendary?" he finally asked a smiling Alex.

"I seriously doubt it, but I'd suggest you get used to the reaction." Booth nodded. He had a feeling he would be getting used to a lot of things on this trip. He also had a feeling he had just scratched the surface on getting to know the woman who was his wife, but that was ok, he absolutely knew the important things and he had the rest of his life to discover the details and there was no better time to start than now.

"So, Grant, do you jump with Bones?" he asked facetiously, but Grant actually shuddered at the thought.

"Hell, no. I like living too much." Booth's eyebrows rose and he looked to Alex for answers, but the other man was avoiding his gaze and rubbing the lobe of his ear. Booth had picked up several days ago that this was Alex's tell that he was nervous, but why would they have started a conversation about something they didn't want him to know?

"Alex?" he questioned softly, knowing demands would get him nowhere with the other man. Looking over at Booth, Alex sighed.

"Here's the thing, Booth. I'm not sure she would want you to know about this and if you yell at her, she'll know that I told you," Booth snorted. _So that was it._ Alex didn't want Brennan to be mad at him.

"I won't yell at her, Alex," Booth promised, but Alex and Grant both snorted at that one.

"Trust me, you'll yell," Grant informed him cheerfully and Alex nodded his agreement. Well, now Booth _had _to know what the hell the two men apparently had backed out of telling him and there were ways of getting information other than direct confrontation. Before he could employ any of his tactics, Jonas spoke up from the stretcher.

"She jumped without a chute." Booth was so stunned, he almost dropped the end of the stretcher he was currently carrying. Looking from Alex to Grant, he could see it was true.

"_She did what_?" he bellowed.

"See, I knew you'd yell," Alex pointed out, but Booth's blood was roaring in his ears too loudly for him to hear the words. Without realizing it, Booth had stopped, his end of the stretcher sagging toward the ground. Alex moved in, nudged the stunned man aside and took possession of the stretcher so they could keep moving. Booth fell into step beside them, running his now free hands through his hair. Casting anxious glances at the obviously agitated man, Grant looked over his shoulder at Alex with a raised brow. Alex just shrugged and grinned.

"That's not why we won't jump with her, though," Grant informed Booth. He had to repeat it twice before he caught Booth's attention. _Oh, God,_ thought Booth, _if it was worse than her jumping out of a freaking airplane without a parachute did he really want to know?_ No, he didn't _want_ to know but he _had_ to know.

"Why won't you jump with her?" Booth asked, his dread of the answer clear in his voice.

"Because she likes it just a little too much," supplied Grant. As an answer it didn't say much, but Booth knew immediately what the man meant. He had jumped with guys like that in his ranger days. They liked the feeling, the rush and they took chances no sane person would take, waiting longer and longer to open the chute, pushing the envelope and seeing just how close to the ground they could get and survive the jump. Booth was less than reassured by the pictures running through his mind. Brennan liked to push the envelope in many ways and had a tendency to rush into danger without looking but to deliberately put her life on the line like that just was not like the woman he knew.

Halting simultaneously, Grant and Alex lowered the stretcher to the ground. The sun was going down and the density of the foliage made the area they were traveling quite dark and, therefore, dangerous. They couldn't afford any more injuries to their little group. It was time to call a halt for the night.

"Look, Booth," Alex continued their previous conversation as if it had never been interrupted; "I really didn't mean to tell you about the whole jumping without a chute thing. Besides, it wasn't nearly as bad as it sounds," he tried to reassure Booth.

"Not as bad as it sounds, Alex?" Booth queried incredulously. _How the hell else could it be? _ In his opinion, his wife blithely diving out of a plane with little chance for survival was as bad as it got.

"She had a good reason," Grant piped in. Booth appreciated his loyalty to Brennan, but he didn't think the men could say anything that could make him feel better at the moment.

"She did have a good reason, Sir," Jonas spoke up and Booth's restraint broke that this young man who didn't even know his wife apparently knew more about her little adventures than he did.

"How do you know, kid? Have you even ever met her?" Booth knew it wasn't fair to turn his wrath on the kid but he was fed up with being given little tidbits of information while being kept in the dark about some, obviously, major events in Brennan's past.

"No, Sir, I've never met her, but guys talk, you know," he stuttered, wide-eyed. Turning dangerously narrowed eyes on Alex, Booth planted his hands on his hips.

"Start talking," he gritted out through clenched teeth. After studying Booth's furious face, Alex gestured to the ground and grinned. When they were all seated, Alex leaned back on his elbows and eyed Booth warily.

"What do you want to know?" he asked easily.

"Everything," Booth growled, noting the look that passed between Alex and Grant. "And I mean everything, Alex. So, stop stalling and start talking." With a sigh, Alex leaned back with his hands crossed behind his head and started talking.

He told Booth everything, starting with a few things that had been left out of the story about her rescuing them. For instance, how she came by her tattoo. Apparently, the tattoo rule was that you got your unit tattoo over the wound of the first bullet you took in battle. Booth's hands clenched into fists as he listened to Alex relate how Brennan had thrown herself over him when she saw one of the guerillas firing in his direction. Alex was already wounded and didn't have a chance of dodging the bullet. She had saved his life by taking a bullet meant for him. That had earned her a place in their unit.

Her spirit, courage, ingenuity, pure genius and sense of duty had earned her a place in their hearts. Booth listened to Alex talk and Grant throw in random comments and anecdotes of his own, thinking that his wife, the woman he had thought he knew as well as she knew herself, had hidden a huge part of herself from him. But the longer they talked, the more Adventures of Red, as they so aptly termed the stories, they told him, he began to understand that they were describing the very same woman that he knew and loved. Granted, she had gotten herself into and out of some extremely dangerous situations and Booth didn't like that one little bit. But, the woman, the caring, compassionate, courageous, spirited genius with an overdeveloped sense of duty and thirst for the truth was definitely his Bones.

And as he came to that understanding, he felt the jealousy he had felt toward these men for sharing something that he had not with his wife slip away. The anger at her past actions and keeping them secret from him, even some resentment he hadn't realized he was harboring that she didn't seem to think it was his right to know everything about her, all of the negative emotions he had experienced over the last several, difficult days just melted away, leaving him with an epiphany. Demanding that she explain her past actions, when he had no real claim on her, would be comparable to her demanding that he explain and justify his actions as a soldier, a sniper. Both explanations would be essentially the same. They had both done what they felt they needed to do. And making her feel guilty or asking her to apologize for that would be akin to asking her to deny who she was or, worse, implying that there was something wrong with who she was. As far as Booth was concerned, she was absolutely perfect and he needed to know just one more thing before he made his peace with her past. Not that he wouldn't be having nightmares about a few of the things he'd heard tonight or extracting promises that they never happened again, but that's all he would be asking for.

"Tell me about the jump," Booth said softly. Alex sat up and eyed the older man warily as if judging whether Booth was ready for this or not. Apparently determining he could handle hearing it, he nodded to Grant, who started the story.

"Red had been nagging all of us to death to get certified to jump," Booth gave Grant a commiserating look. He knew well just how relentless she could be when she really wanted something so he could imagine the kind of pressure she had brought to bear. "Since I was an instructor, the next time I took a group up, I gave her a call and she and the goon squad showed up." Grant pointing toward Alex let Booth know that the goon squad was her former team.

"Like we would trust her safety to a Navy Seal," Alex shot back. Before they could really get into the seemingly friendly insults, Booth clapped his hands drawing their attention back to the story with a raised brow.

"The first group was suited up including Steven and Garrett, who were overseeing the jumps while I talked the second group through the process when all hell broke loose," he stopped and ran a shaking hand over his face, seeing the terrifying events unfolding in his mind's eye.

"It wasn't your fault, Grant. It was an accident." Alex offered supportively to his friend. Grant nodded but didn't look like her believed the words.

"One of the guys waiting to jump had a seizure." Booth winced, knowing as closely as the jumpers were standing while waiting to deplane this would have caused a great deal of jostling up the line.

"Steven said he only took his eyes away for a second when the commotion started, but when he looked back she was gone," Alex almost whispered, running a shaking hand down his own face, his own memories of that day surfacing. Booth's heart was beating double time at what he was hearing but this didn't sound anything like what he had expected and he wanted to make sure he had the details correct before he demanded to know what the hell she was doing anywhere near the door without a chute in place. It was the first rule of safety and these men were experienced enough not to let that slide.

"You're telling me she got knocked out of the plane without a parachute?" Booth demanded, his voice raspy from the effort of holding his anger in check.

"No, she jumped," Grant answered, looking him straight in the eye.

"Booth," Alex snapped, drawing his angry gaze from Grant. "The guy waiting to jump got jostled and hit his head, hard. It knocked him out, Booth, and he was pushed out by all the shoving. Red is the only one who saw him hit his head and she knew he was unconscious, but she couldn't get to him in time to stop him from going out of the plane."

"So, she jumped without a parachute? What the hell was she thinking?" Booth closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the tree he was propped against, trying to get his rioting emotions under control. Remembering that they had yelled pretty much the same thing at her that day Grant and Alex gave him a moment.

"I told you she was very, very good. She got to the kid and Steven and Garrett were right behind her. I'll have to admit it was the longest minute of my life until I saw Garrett grab her and Steven take the kid, but they all made it down safely and the kid was fine other than a headache. Unfortunately, the one who started the whole fiasco wasn't quite so lucky." Interpreting Booth's look correctly to mean he thought they might have thrown the unfortunate instigator out of the plane without a chute, Alex shook his head. He didn't share that it had taken four of them to keep Nathaniel from following the other three out the door even without a chute but that was no longer relevant.

"Undiagnosed brain aneurysm. He was dead before he hit the floor. And, if it makes you feel any better, we all took turns yelling at her." It really didn't, but Booth appreciated the effort so he gave the other man a halfhearted grin.

"What did she say?" Booth could just hear her giving them all a lecture on how she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

"It was the oddest thing," Grant said with a look Booth couldn't quite identify on his face, "she just sat there with a look of wonder on her face while we all yelled at her, then she just smiled at all of us, told us that she hadn't been afraid because she knew we would never let anything happen to her and asked when we could go up again. Don't worry," he hastened to add at Booth's narrow eyed stare, "I said no."

"Yeah, I fell in love with her again that day," Alex sighed. Booth tensed until he saw the teasing smile on the other man's face.

"She's taken, Alex. Get your own woman and leave mine alone," Booth growled.

"Seriously, Booth, she must have a cousin or something you could introduce me to. After all, you took the love of my life away from me so it really is the least you could do," Alex persisted.

"Forget it, Alex. Even if she did have cousins, I wouldn't introduce you to them. Bones told me about you and women. Besides, there is only one Bones." Crossing his arms over his chest, he settled more comfortably against the tree, preparing to get some sleep while Grant took the first watch. Ignoring the chuckles of Grant and Jonas over his and Alex's bickering, Booth closed his eyes with a tired sigh.

"Yeah, you're right about that," Alex sighed sadly. "Don't suppose you'd consider sharing?" he asked hopefully seconds later. Booth didn't bother to open his eyes, but he couldn't hold back a grin.

"Goodnight, Alex," he tried to force exasperation in his tone but it was drowned out by amusement.

"So is that a no, then or do you just need some time to think about it?" Without opening his eyes, Booth picked up a stick from the ground beside him and threw it in Alex's general direction amid laughter from everyone. Minutes later, their little camp grew quiet as Alex and Jonas drifted to sleep and Grant scoped out a perimeter for guard duty. Booth felt himself drifting off with a smile on his face and a sense of camaraderie with these men that hadn't been there mere hours earlier. He almost felt like he was back in the army and it felt kind of good.


	19. Chapter 19

**YEAH!! I have my internet back. I'm so excited and hope you guys didn't think I had abandoned you. I will be answering all the reviews but it may take a few days so let me just say a blanket thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan's eyes flew open as a hand covered her mouth. She relaxed immediately as she looked into Nathaniel's gentle blue eyes as he knelt beside her. Holding a finger to his lips to indicate she needed to be quiet, he pulled her to her feet and toward a dense grove of trees, urging her far enough into the shelter of the trees that they couldn't be seen by whoever Gavin had signaled was approaching and following her in. Nathaniel was fairly certain the approaching men were theirs but he wasn't willing to take any chances where Brennan was concerned. Signaling to Garrett to protect her, Nathaniel turned to move to a better vantage point. Brennan grabbed his arm, giving him the be careful signal and Nathaniel fought the urge to reach out and touch her cheek, giving her a wink and nod instead before moving away.

Brennan stood quietly, hoping it was the other team approaching. She, Nathaniel, Garrett and Gavin had all gotten a little scratched up landing but had escaped any serious injuries. They had immediately set out for the rendezvous point and reached it just as darkness fell last night. Brennan had paced for a couple of hours, anxiously looking into the darkness for any signs of the other team until Nathaniel had gently led her to a tree and insisted she sit down, handing her water and an energy bar. She had eaten but her eyes continued to stray to the surrounding darkness and her thoughts remained on Booth and the other team, praying they were safe.

Nathaniel and the twins had assured her that the other team would have a little further to travel to meet them and they wouldn't risk injury by traveling in the dark so they didn't really expect them until morning. They had then started in on their favorite pastime of telling corny jokes to see who could make her laugh the loudest. At first, she just rolled her eyes, but they didn't give up and soon had her cracking up at their antics even when she didn't get the joke. When she was stifling yawns between giggles, they had finally taken pity on her and settled in to get some sleep with Nathaniel on one side of her and Gavin on the other as Garrett took first watch. She had woken each time the watch changed, offering to take her own turn, but they had refused urging her to get some sleep. She had drifted off with her stalwart protectors always by her side and she greatly appreciated their care and concern, but she wanted to see Booth. She was concerned about Alex and Grant as well, but she needed to see for herself that Booth was okay.

Ten long minutes later, Nathaniel gave the all clear signal and Brennan hurried out of the shelter of the trees and there he was, coming toward her carrying the end of some type of fabricated conveyance supporting a young man she had never seen before. Not that she paid him much attention, she had eyes only for her husband whose entire face lit up when he caught sight of her. With a muffled sob, she ran toward him. Booth quickly set down his end of the stretcher and opened his arms just in time to catch her as she threw herself against him, her arms wrapping around his neck so tightly she was almost strangling him, but he didn't complain. He was hugging her just as tightly, his relief at seeing her safe just as great as hers at seeing him. It was such a private moment that the others turned away. Pulling back, Booth pressed a tender kiss to her lips.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," she whispered back, kissing him again then turning to Alex and Grant to assure herself they were okay, as well. Looking toward the young man on the stretcher, she poked Booth in the side with her elbow. "Where did he come from, Booth?"

"Well, I didn't buy him if that's what you're wondering," he informed her. She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Of course you didn't buy him, Booth. There are no indigenous people in this area of the forest so who would you buy him from?" she questioned seriously. Booth finally noticed the young man was following their conversation with apparent fascination.

"He was our pilot, Bones," he said taking her hand and pulling her over to the young man. "Jonas, this is Dr. Temperence Brennan Booth, my wife. Bones, this is Captain Jonas Craig, United States Air Force." Brennan gave the young man a brilliant smile and leaned down to shake his hand. Booth just sighed at the smitten look that settled on Jonas' face as she squatted down and looked at his ankle, asking about his injury. Looked like his wife had just added another one to her own little army. Leaving Brennan chatting with the injured man, Booth walked over the others who were gathered, squatting in a circle, drawing on the ground with a stick.

"Okay," Nathaniel glanced up and nodded as Booth joined them, "we got confirmation that ground support will be waiting for our signal, but we have to get here for them to attempt any type of rescue," he pointed to a spot on the far side of the circle he had drawn. "We had planned on taking this route," he indicated the route, "which is about 30 miles but the terrain is rough. There's no way we can do it with a man down. So that leaves this route," he pointed to the alternate route with a sigh.

"How far?" inquired Alex.

"41.6 miles," answered Gavin quietly, drawing a round of curses from everyone present. They all knew they needed to be out of the jungle before nightfall and it would be almost impossible to do that distance in one day carrying an injured person. But, they didn't have another option. They had to try. Within minutes, equipment was packed, every sign of their ever being here meticulously removed, packs donned, Garrett and Gavin lifted Jonas on his stretcher and they set out at a grueling pace, a sense of impending danger driving them forward.

They made good time, resting only when absolutely necessary and changing out who carried the stretcher frequently. But they all knew it wasn't going to be enough to make their pickup before nightfall, which didn't worry them all that much until they heard multiple planes circling overhead about 2 pm. Signaling them deeper into the forest, Nathaniel, Alex and Grant headed off in different directions to get a good look at what was going on. Whispering to Brennan to stay put and telling the twins to stay with her and Jonas, Booth climbed a nearby rise, remaining under cover but able to see the orange parachutes littering the sky.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered. This was so not good. Quickly making his way back to Brennan and the others, he met Nathaniel, Alex and Grant just as he arrived, all of them grim faced and tight lipped.

"What?" asked Brennan, looking anxiously from face to face, gripping Booth's hand tightly.

"It has to be Rodrigo," Alex said, the others nodding agreement.

"What has to be Rodrigo?" Brennan demanded.

"They're dropping jumpers," Nathaniel answered reluctantly, looking at Alex and Grant and getting silent counts of the number of parachutes they had spotted. Luckily, most of them were dropping pretty far behind them, closer to where the plane had actually gone down, but they seemed to be pretty well distributed to cover the entire area and they would be moving much faster than their own group could hope to achieve with an injured man. It was possible but highly unlikely that the jumpers were part of this country's version of search and rescue, but considering the number of chutes in the air and Rodrigo's long reach, they just couldn't take that chance.

"I counted seventeen coming down to the southeast," Booth added quietly. Nathaniel closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face. _Shit, that meant the jumpers would be directly in their path of escape._ The only choices they had was to evade if possible and fight if they couldn't. Nathaniel looked up to find everyone looking at him knowing that every life in this group rested in his hands and he had never felt that weight quite as heavily as he did today.

"Well, then I guess we better get our asses in gear and get out of here before we have company," he joked only to be interrupted by Jonas.

"Leave me," the young man suggested calmly, "I'll only slow you down and without me you can outrun them. You can come back for me later," he urged, but they all knew that wouldn't happen. If the young man was abandoned, he was as good as dead and he knew it as well as anyone. To their credit, not one of the people present even considered sacrificing one of their own to save the rest. Ignoring the young man's words, Nathaniel started barking orders out to his team. Booth walked over to the young man and knelt down beside him, knowing the kind of courage it had taken for him to make the offer in the first place. This young man had the makings of a real hero. "Sir, you have to tell them to leave me," Jonas insisted.

"No," Booth refused, "we don't leave people behind, kid. Besides, what would I tell your Uncle Joe?" he asked seriously and Jonas finally nodded, knowing he had needed to make the offer, but relieved they weren't going to leave him behind. Patting him on the shoulder, Booth rose and returned to the group. Nathaniel handed him a machine gun and two clips of ammo and Booth nodded his appreciation. If they ran into trouble up close and personal, his rifle wouldn't really do him a lot of good.

"How many?" Booth asked quietly.

"At least forty behind. At least thirty ahead," Nathaniel answered just as quietly. Raising his head, he stared at Booth levelly. "Booth, if it comes down to it, you do what you have to do to get her out of here," he instructed, nodding toward Brennan who was helping Garrett check weapons and ammo.

"We're all getting out of here, Nathaniel. Rangers don't leave people behind," Booth replied firmly. Before Nathaniel could reinforce his demand, Gavin came skidding to a stop beside the two men.

"It's done," he said quietly to Nathaniel, who nodded and calmly kept checking his weapon.

He knew they had done everything they could to assure their escape, but his mind ran through the possible alternatives one last time. Grant had suggested placing explosives in the path of the men behind them but Booth had vetoed that arguing that if some of the men did get injured by the explosives, it certainly wouldn't take out enough of them at once to make any real difference and would definitely pinpoint the direction they had taken to the other pursuers. Nathaniel agreed with Booth. Besides, if they had to stand and fight, the explosives might come in handy. He had sent Gavin to a nearby rise to radio their position and a sit rep (a brief explanation of their current situation) to their ground troops, hoping that it wouldn't be intercepted. If Rodrigo wasn't involved, the jumpers wouldn't have the technology but if he was, all bets were off because he was one smart, devious bastard. But, considering the 70+ men on the ground who they could only assume were armed and after them, they didn't have a lot of options. With a last check of his gun, Nathaniel lifted his head and looked directly at Booth.

"Remember what I said," he said softly before turning to see the others had all finished their tasks and were awaiting orders. "Move out."

Four hours later, they were within three miles of the pickup point which was good news. The bad news was that there were at least 40 armed men between them and where they needed to be. They had been pleased when they hadn't encountered any of Rodrigo's men so far and now they knew why. The men had been ordered to go directly to the exit point and prevent their escape. Considering the large clearing was the only one that existed for miles, they weren't really surprised that Rodrigo had figured out where they were headed. They were a little surprised at his efficiency and the two helicopters already sitting in the clearing. Booth and Nathaniel lowered their rifles at the same time and turned to grin at each other, whispering one word simultaneously, "Transportation." Stealthily moving back to their group who were in another massive grove of trees, they relayed the good news and set about planning how to get the hell out of there.

Booth looked at his wife in disbelief, doubting that he could possibly have heard her correctly. Just to be sure, he asked her to repeat herself. _Yep, that was exactly what he'd heard the first time around._ His disbelief was overtaken by aggravation but it wasn't aimed at his wife. It was aimed at the five men who apparently had never even tried to exert any control over the stubborn woman and let her do whatever the hell she pleased when she was with them, including playing with explosives. Glaring at them, Booth gave it up when he saw them looking back with innocent expressions and shrugs that told him she hadn't really given them a chance to refuse. With a sigh, Booth pushed the aggravation aside. He knew how good she was at getting what she wanted. Turning to his wife with a stern look, he uttered one word.

"No." Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward, gripping his forearm hard.

"Do you have a better idea?" she queried sweetly. _Well, no, he didn't, but that wasn't the point._ The point was that they had decided to slip through the perimeter of the clearing, grab one of the choppers and head out. That obviously meant disabling the other helicopter so the bad guys couldn't give chase. It also meant they had to move swiftly so the stretcher had to go. Grant had volunteered to carry Jonas and looking at his sheer size, Booth thought he would probably be the only one who could do it and keep up with them as a group, but that left the demolitions expert occupied just when they needed an explosion.

"Someone else can carry the kid," he offered calmly. Brennan rolled her eyes.

"Booth, none of the others will be able to carry him, not as quickly as Grant can and if they have to just help him walk, it will slow down three people, putting everyone at risk. I can do this, Booth," she insisted earnestly. Booth eyed Jonas consideringly and had to admit Brennan was right. He was a big boy. By no means fat, he was at least six feet tall and solid muscle. Eyeing the others, Booth saw they were all in excellent physical condition but Grant was the only one capable of pulling that part of it off. _Okay, fine, he would think of something else_.

"Grant can rig something up and one of us," he pointed between the other soldiers and himself, "will plant it on the other chopper before we take off." He was running out of ideas and he knew it, his confidence in this plan taking a nosedive when Grant shook his head.

"It's not that easy, Booth. Sure, I have explosives and if we just wanted to blow the chopper to hell, your plan would work, but we need this to be well timed so we don't also blow up our way out of here. Unfortunately, I only have the basics with me. Someone is going to have to wire explosives directly into the ignition system of that chopper and, by my count, there are only two people here that can do that," Grant calmly threw the ball back in Booth's court.

"We don't have time for this," Alex pointed out and they all knew it was true. It had been smart for Rodrigo to plant his men here. They had to assume he had been smart enough to send the ones who had landed closer to the crash site in this direction as soon as they ascertained there were no bodies and every minute they spent arguing increased the chances of them being caught between the two forces.

"I can wire the chopper and then come back for Jonas," Grant offered. Booth rolled his eyes at the suggestion. It would be a miracle if they managed to slip through the armed patrols and get to the choppers once, but to wire the chopper, come back three miles to pick up Jonas and then get back to the chopper in one piece without all of them dying in the process was just not going to happen. So, it came down to either putting everyone at risk, abandoning the kid or letting his wife sneak into the camp and wire the other chopper with explosives_. Some choice,_ Booth thought, knowing there was really only one acceptable choice. Shaking his head, Booth looked at his wife sternly.

"I can do this, Booth," she told him stubbornly and despite their current predicament, he felt a smile tugging at his lips. He didn't doubt it for a second.

"Okay," he said softly, catching her hand in his, "but I'm going with you and you do what I tell you when I tell you." Not satisfied with her nod, he leaned over and tipped up her chin with his finger, making her look into his eyes to see how serious he was. "I mean it, Bones. You _will _follow orders. Promise me," he demanded. Despite the rebellious expression that appeared in his wife's eyes, his expression didn't soften one iota. Finally realizing he was deadly serious, she sighed and nodded.

"Fine, Booth. I promise," she gritted out, turning to glare at Garrett as a snicker escaped the young man. Booth turned to see five men gaping at him in astonishment.

"What?" he asked wondering what the hell could be wrong now.

"Nothing," supplied Alex, wonder in his voice, "it's just that we've been trying to get her to do that for years. Damn, you are good," he added with a grin that Booth couldn't help but return.

Booth, Brennan and Alex crouched at the edge of the woods, waiting for the three men to walk away from the choppers. They had silently made their way through the forest, finding it necessary to take out seven armed men to avoid discovery. Booth had expected to feel bad when he was forced to break the first man's neck but he had only felt anger that it was necessary and the need to keep Brennan safe. He did expect the regrets to come later and he would deal with them when and if they showed up but he would never regret keeping her safe, he knew without a shadow of doubt. If that made him a bad person then so be it.

Nathaniel had strongly objected when Booth had suggested Alex accompany him and Brennan instead of Nathaniel until Booth had calmly told him they needed him to cover them. After a silent battle of wills, Nathaniel had nodded knowing Booth was right, he could give them the best long range coverage. Even thought they had been able to get somewhat closer to the clearing as a group, it would still be a mad dash to escape if anyone sounded the alarm. They simply didn't have a chance against the number of armed men in the vicinity.

Pushing down his desire to be close enough to protect Brennan with his body if necessary, Nathaniel calmly picked the best site for a sniper and set up his gun. Even though Garrett wasn't classified as a sniper, he was a damned good shot and he set up Booth's rifle at a second position. Nathaniel watched Brennan, Booth and Alex melt into the forest with a silent prayer for all their safety ignoring Grant as he walked over and stood looking down at him.

"You have to let it go, Nathaniel," Grant said quietly, dropping down beside his friend. Nathaniel stiffened at Grant's words but his eyes never left his scope where he was tracking the progress of the three heading for the chopper. Nathaniel had seen the looks Grant had been giving him and had known this was coming, but this was neither the time nor the place, they needed to concentrate on the mission not his feelings.

"Leave it alone, Grant," he growled back, his tone telling his friend he had no intention of having this discussion, but Grant was made of stern stuff and they had been friends for a long time. He knew how much his friend was hurting from personal experience and he just wanted to help. He knew his next words would be interpreted as cruel by most people but the man beside him had used them on him during one of the darkest periods of his life and they had somehow pulled him back from the self pity he had been wallowing in.

"She loves him, Nathaniel, and he loves her. She's happy and if you really love her, you will let her go and let her be happy." Nathaniel's eyes closed briefly as he heard the exact words he had used on his friend so long ago echo in this place. He felt like a knife had been thrust into his heart at the words even through Grant wasn't telling him anything he hadn't already known.

"I don't have a hold on her, Grant. She was never mine to begin with." When Nathaniel had first heard about Brennan's marriage, he had been crushed, furious and deeply regretted that he had never been more aggressive about moving their relationship to a more intimate level. _He could have been satisfied with having her for just a little while_, he told himself. But he was coming to understand that just wasn't true. The way he felt about her, if she had ever belonged to him and had walked away, it would have destroyed him. So he guessed that was something to be thankful for now. The self deprecating grin that curled Nathaniel's lips gave Grant hope that he had gotten through to his friend. Clapping him on the shoulder, Grant offered him some hope.

"You'll never forget her, Nathaniel, but it will get easier," he promised. "And some day you'll look back on all this pain with fond memories." Nathaniel sincerely doubted that but Grant even bringing the subject up told him he wasn't hiding his feelings as well as he had thought he was and he didn't want to give Grant further reason to worry about him.

"If you say so, Grant." It was as close to an agreement as Nathaniel could come, but Grant laughed and got to his feet, returning to his patient now that his mission had been accomplished. Returning his full attention to the scope, Nathaniel's breath caught as he saw one of the armed men walking in a direct intercept pattern toward his three team members. His finger automatically went to the trigger, but he knew he couldn't take the shot. It would compromise their position. He could only watch and hope Booth or Alex would neutralize the threat.

Nathaniel knew that Booth had limited experience with up close and person kills, his sniper past had seen to that but he hadn't hesitated when the first man had stumbled on them. Knowing they couldn't chance merely incapacitating the men they ran into, his instincts and training had kicked in and he had taken the man down quickly and efficiently. Considering how long he had been out of the military, Nathaniel was impressed. _Damn,_ he cursed under his breath, he so badly wanted the hate the man who had become the center of Brennan's universe, but he just couldn't make himself do it. Booth was a good man, fairness made him admit. Booth and Brennan loved each other very much and there was no bad guy in this. It wasn't as if he and Brennan were married or even involved and Booth had come along and stolen her away from him. They had simply fallen in love and it was time for him to come to grips with that. It would be the hardest mission of his life but he had never failed to complete a mission and he wasn't about to start now.

Booth stiffened as the men walked away from the helicopters, one appearing to be heading straight toward them then relaxed as the man entered the woods approximately thirty feet to their right apparently unaware they were there. Alex fingered his com unit in the prearranged signal to let the others know they were entering the camp. Nathaniel and Garret should both have a fairly clear line of sight into the clearing but would have lost sight of them as they moved through the underbrush. Nathaniel would give the signal for Grant, Jonas and Gavin to move out, then he and Garrett would follow as soon as they made it to the choppers which sat side by side in the field. Alex would get the one chopper ready to take off while Booth guarded Brennan as she wired the other chopper to explode when the ignition had been on for one minute, hopefully giving them enough time to put some distance between the machines.

With a hand signal, Alex motioned them forward and moved out with Brennan behind him and Booth bringing up the rear to afford her as much protection as possible as they ran to the choppers in their awkward, crouched positions. Splitting up, Alex slid into one chopper and Brennan entered the other. Booth also slid just inside the door of the chopper to lessen his visibility to others but still had a good view of the surrounding area.

To Booth's astonishment, no one was actually guarding the choppers physically, apparently trusting that the line of armed men was impregnable. _Well, that was one mistake that would cost the bad guys and the good guys deserved a break,_ he assured himself just as his com unit squeaked out two quick bursts of static. Nathaniel and the others were on their way. So far, so good, everything was going according to plan.

In fact, everything was going a little too smoothly, Booth's gut told him, just as Brennan slid from between the front seats of the second helicopter with a smile of accomplishment on her face, finished with her part of the assignment. Her smile faded fast as she got a good look at Booth's face. She could clearly see that he was uneasy and that, in turn, made her uneasy. She trusted Booth's gut implicitly and instinctively knew it was telling him something wasn't right with the situation.

Holding a finger to his lips, he waited for her nod of understanding then peered cautiously out of the chopper, unable to relax even when he saw no one. His senses were screaming that danger was nearby. Easing out of the chopper, he made a full sweep of the area, but saw nothing. One hand on his weapon, he held the other out to Brennan and helped her to the ground, gently but urgently pushing her toward the other chopper, wanting her to be a target in the open as briefly as possible.

Entering the chopper behind Brennan, Booth's eyes connected with Alex's. Seeing that the other man also felt that something was very off about this situation had Booth turning back to survey the surrounding area and then he saw it. They were completely surrounded and the armed men had turned their attention from the forest to the clearing, slowly closing the circle around them. _They had probably known they were here the whole time_, Booth thought with disgust.

Dispensing with stealth, Alex reached over and hit the ignition of the helicopter, sending the rotors whirring to life. Nathaniel and the others would be able to hear them and would know to haul ass, that something had gone wrong with the plan and the men closing in on the chopper actually gave their other team members more or less a free pass. They wouldn't have to fight their way through and should be here pronto. Or at least the three in the chopper hoped so. If not, they would have to either leave without them or be captured, both unacceptable alternatives in Booth's and Brennan's opinion. Alex had promised Nathaniel to get Brennan to safety if something went wrong but, damn, he hadn't really though that would mean leaving anyone behind, most especially his whole damn team. Knowing he couldn't do it, he turned to Brennan who immediately shook her head decisively.

"No, Alex," she refused adamantly. Before he could argue with her refusal, an amused voice came over the radio. Stiffening, Alex handed Brennan and Booth each a headset and indicated they should put them on.

"Temperence, so good to see you again, my dear," a sinister voice whispered in her ear, sending a shiver of dread down her spine. Feeling the shudder, Booth put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Meeting his eyes she mouthed "Rodrigo" before punching her headset to allow her to respond to the greeting.

"What do you want?" she demanded her tone dripping with disdain.

"Now, now, my dear, you shouldn't frown so. It will give you wrinkles, you know." He laughed as her eyes flew to meet Booth's and they all three came to the realization that Rodrigo could see them. He obviously had the chopper wired with a camera and most likely sound. Luckily, they hadn't said anything so he hadn't gotten anything to use against them there. They had all considered the possibility that this could be a set up, but hadn't really given it much credence. They had obviously underestimated Rodrigo.

_That wouldn't happen again_, Booth promised himself, as his eyes searched for and found the tiny lens on the control panel. With a great deal of satisfaction, he reached out and jerked it loose, severing the connection. Rodrigo laughed at his action and Booth's hands tightened into fists. God, he hadn't thought he could hate this guy more but he had been wrong.

"And you must be Special Agent Seeley Booth, Temperence's current paramour," Booth stiffened at the sneer in Rodrigo's voice but he held his temper, knowing the guy wanted to make him angry partially to divide his focus and partially because he was a sick freak and messing with people is how he got his kicks. "Tell me, Agent Booth, how are you and Nathaniel getting along?" he taunted. "He's been in love with her for years, you know. I would watch my back around that young man if I were you. It can't be easy for him to see you with his former lover, the love of his life." Rodrigo's voice was now smooth as if he was offering much needed advice to a good friend. Booth wasn't sure what part of that statement triggered an outraged a gasp from Brennan, but he ignored it to calmly trigger his own mike.

"What do you want, Rodrigo?" Booth asked calmly, nodding his head to get Alex to notice where their people were now emerging from the forest. With a grin, Alex nodded and reached for the controls, lifting the chopper off the ground.

"I want Temperence." Booth smiled at the anger in Rodrigo's voice. It was pretty clear the guy knew they were getting away and Booth suddenly knew why he was angry. There was no way he would allow his goons to shoot at them and risk hurting Brennan. She was his only leverage with Perez and her being brought in dead was more likely to earn his own death than a reward. His hunch was proven correct when not one shot was fired at them as they hovered over the soldier's heads.

Covering his mike, Booth instructed Alex to get between their people and Rodrigo's soldiers. He had a feeling they wouldn't hesitate to open fire on the rest of their group. Luckily, Alex was already headed in that direction and the men on the ground were too busy watching the chopper to realize they had other prey until Alex set down directly in front of their group. Dumping Jonas inside, Grant jumped into the chopper with a grin quickly followed by the others. Counting heads to be sure everyone was there, Booth finally turned his attention back to the voice sputtering in rage in his ear issuing all kinds of dire threats.

"Listen up, Rodrigo," he snapped, "Brennan belongs to me now. You will never, ever touch her, you will never even come near her again. If you try, I will kill you where you stand," he growled his voice full of menace. Booth winced a little at the way Brennan stiffened at his words. He would probably pay for them later but that was the only thing someone like this freak raised in such a male dominated society understood. Women were property and you were either strong enough to protect your property or it was taken from you. Throwing her a wink, he was relieved to see she looked a little irritated but not homicidal.

"Touché, Agent Booth," Rodrigo answered pleasantly, "I had thought to let you and your companions live with the guilt of Temperance's death on your conscience, but I believe you actually mean what you say."

"Believe it," Booth snapped, livid that this man was talking about Brennan's death as if it was an unalterable event.

"Very well then, Agent Booth," Rodrigo said cheerfully. "With that attitude, you really leave me no choice, but to eliminate you as well. You can't get away, you know. We found the bomb you planted in the second helicopter and it will be right behind you wherever you go. Eventually you will run out of fuel and land. Then, Agent Booth, Temperence will be mine and you will be dead," Booth had already known Rodrigo was disturbed but the madness was easily detectable in his voice as it rose in excitement at the thought of getting his hands on Brennan. Booth gently rubbed her back as she shuddered in revulsion.

"Bring it on," he challenged leaning over to flip the radio off on Rodrigo's outraged sputtering. He had to admit he was a little concerned about the other chopper being able to follow them but they had a lot of firepower on this chopper and should be able to take it down if they couldn't lose it. Seeing Alex eying the other helicopter as they both rose into the air, Booth realized that the other man wasn't even trying to lose it. He simply glanced at Brennan with a raised brow. She looked at the altimeter and raised a thumb in the air, apparently indicating they should go higher since Alex began to climb, quickly putting some distance between the helicopters but still not taking any evasive maneuvers. Booth knew he had to be missing something and he found out what a few seconds later when a huge fireball erupted from the position of the second aircraft.

Head snapping around at the sound of an explosion, Booth watched as the second aircraft dissolved into a raging inferno, spewing forth parts of twisted metal to scatter on the ground far below. Now he knew why the others hadn't been concerned about the other chopper following them. They had all known Brennan would plant a second bomb. It was brilliant. Even if Rodrigo's men had been looking for sabotage, they would have felt the threat had been neutralized when they found the first bomb and wouldn't have looked further. His wife was a genius, he thought proudly, who had just most likely saved all their lives. Well, she and Grant, who had, presumably, taught her about all things that go boom.

Looking toward his wife, he saw she was huddled against the back of Alex's seat, knees drawn up to her chest, head buried in her arms. Booth knew that look. So did the others who were all gathered around, patting Brennan. Grant had his arm around her shoulders whispering something into her ear, but she gave no indication of having heard.

Maneuvering in the cramped space was difficult but Booth was soon tapping Grant on the shoulder. When the big man looked up, Booth jerked his head toward the front seat indicating they should switch places. With surprisingly little difficulty for someone of his size, Grant ensconced himself in the front seat and Booth dropped down beside Brennan. The minute he touched her, she turned into his arms, her arms going around his neck and her head buried in his shoulder. Scooting around to a more comfortable position, he pulled her fully onto his lap, unable to verbally communicate because of the noise of the rotors and the rushing wind. But they didn't need words to communicate.

He already knew she took no pleasure in causing the death of others and if there had been another way, she would have chosen it. He also knew she would do it again if she had to, no matter the cost to her conscience. She would eventually want to talk about it and he would listen, but for now, he simply held her close, the gentle stroking of her hair and tender kisses he didn't even realize he was dropping on her brow and the top of her head telling her that he was proud of her, he loved her and everything would be all right. And even in this awful place after everything she had seen and done, she believed him because he was her Booth and he would never lie to her.


	20. Chapter 20

**This one is a little short but it is necessary to set up the next few chapters. Thanks to all for the reviews and please keep them coming. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Rodrigo cursed long and loud as the explosion of the second helicopter echoed through the surrounding jungle, the sound signaling the escape of his prey. He badly wanted to hurt someone, but he was surrounded by soldiers and they weren't likely to cow before him like his usual victims so he would just have to control his rage until he had a more appropriate target. And he knew exactly who he wanted that target to be. Dr. Temperence Brennan. Granted, she wasn't his usual choice, but considering all the trouble she had caused him, he was willing to make an exception. In fact, he would insist on it, after he made her watch while he killed that arrogant upstart who had attached himself to her, who dared to threaten his life.

Although the thought of allowing her team to live while she died brought him immense pleasure when he thought of the emotional pain they would suffer over not saving her, it really wasn't practical to allow any of them to live. Maybe he would make her watch every member of her team die before having his own fun with her and then handing her over to Perez, he mused cheering at the thought. He really wasn't worried about their escape. He had a secret weapon they couldn't know about and he would win. He always did.

Alex sat the chopper down in a field some seventy miles from their escape point where one of their own was waiting for them. They knew Rodrigo would have some kind of tracker on the chopper so they couldn't fly it directly to their base camp, but it wouldn't matter if it was found here as this field was nowhere near their camp. Unwilling to leave Rodrigo with working hardware that could be used to terrify or harm innocent people, Grant wired the chopper with a timed charge that blew mere minutes after they were off the ground.

Their new ride was a little crowded but these people didn't mind a little closeness after what they had been through. Brennan sat beside Booth, head resting on his shoulder, eyes closed. He rubbed her back soothingly knowing she wasn't sleeping, she was reflecting on what had happened over the last few days, most likely blaming herself for anything that had gone wrong. That was just her way. She judged herself much more harshly than she would ever judge another.

Booth wanted to talk to her to give her the reassurances he knew she needed to hear, but the chopper was so noisy that making conversation was impossible. When they were on the ground, he would find them a nice, private spot and they would talk all this out, he promised himself pulling her closer and watching in amusement as every big strong soldier on the chopper kept glancing at Brennan as if she were a time bomb and they didn't know if she was going to blow or not. They kept reaching over and awkwardly patting her and Booth could only assume they didn't think he was comforting her adequately. Oddly enough, he wasn't insulted by their actions, he was touched that they cared enough about his wife to offer her what comfort they could. Forty-five minutes later, they all piled out of the chopper and into two humvees that were waiting to take them the rest of the way to camp. They were all dragging by this time, exhausted from their activities of the last two days.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at one of three base camps. While it was true that their force was stronger combined, it would be foolhardy to station all their troops in one spot where they could all be taken out if they were discovered. They had chosen to split them into three groups that would combine as they enacted their plan to lure Perez out of his stronghold and end his reign of terror. They were upon the camp before Booth realized it and he was impressed with whoever had chosen the spot and set up the camp. It would be impossible to spot from the air and you would have to stumble into it on foot before you knew it was there. When the humvee came to a halt, Booth gently shook Brennan's shoulder and watched as her lashes fluttered open to reveal sleepy blue eyes.

"We're at base camp, Baby," he whispered. She smiled at him sweetly and nodded, then closed her eyes and snuggled closer. Smiling tenderly, Booth tilted her face up toward him and leaned down to whisper directly in her ear, "Wakey, wakey, Bones. Come on, Baby, we're here." This time her eyes stayed open but she looked thoroughly disgruntled making Booth laugh softly and tuck her hair behind her ear. The others, glancing around at Booth's laughter and catching Brennan's expression, grinned, but they knew from experience better than to laugh. She tended to be rather cranky when woken.

Pushing herself upright, she stifled a yawn and rubbed her tired eyes, sliding out of the humvee behind Booth and looking around at the camp curiously. She counted about fifteen men milling around with four men coming toward them with welcoming smiles. One of the men pulled ahead of the others and strode straight to Booth, extending his hand with a huge grin.

"Good to see you, Booth. I have to say, I was a little worried when we got word the plane went down. I told my nephew that you couldn't jump worth shit and to not crash the damn thing," the man who was about Booth's age grouched good naturedly. Grinning, Booth shook the other man's hand enthusiastically.

"Good to see you, too, Joe, and it wasn't Jonas' fault we scuttled the plane. It was all Nathaniel's idea," Booth told him cheerfully, remembering the promise he had made Jonas. Nathaniel just rolled his eyes at the laughter from the others, reaching out a hand to shake Joe's.

"Is everything secure, Joe?" he queried tiredly and Joe nodded. "Good. We all really need to get a few hours sleep, then we can set down and go over the plan. Is there somewhere available for us to crash?" Looking at the group, Joe could see they were all exhausted.

"Sure, Nathaniel. Those tents over there are set up as sleeping quarters." Pointing out the tents, he glanced curiously at Brennan who was swaying on her feet in exhaustion with Booth's arm securely around her shoulder. "I'm sorry you won't have much privacy, maam, but it's the best we can do."

"It's fine, Joe," Brennan told him with a tired smile, leaning against Booth. Joe was desperately curious about the possessive way Booth held Red. Booth had often spoken of his partner when they met up for drinks or dinner and Joe had even seen pictures of her. He also wasn't blind or stupid so he had known how Booth felt about her a long time ago, but he'd had no idea Booth's partner and the infamous Red were the same person. It was also common scuttlebutt that Nathaniel had a thing for Red. If that was true, this had the makings of a freaking Greek tragedy. Curiosity was eating him alive but he could always pump his nephew for details as soon as he sent this crew off to bed.

"The tent on the left should have enough empty cots to accommodate all of you and if not, just commandeer what you need," Joe nodded to them then headed toward his nephew who was still seated in the humvee, waiting for the medic to look at his ankle. Turning toward the tent, the group silently trudged toward waiting beds. They were all so tired, Booth doubted they could have moved quickly if their lives depended on it. He was proven wrong seconds later.

"Wait up, boys," called a breathless female voice behind them. Booth glanced curiously over his shoulder unaware of any other females in camp. Feeling Brennan suddenly tug away from his side, he turned back to find she had been tugged away from him and the other four men surrounded her just as they had in her office, as if the woman approaching was a threat to her safety.

"Shit," cursed Alex under his breath, "What the hell is she doing here?"

"I have no idea," growled Nathaniel, his voice filled with fury, just as the woman came to a stop in front of him.

Booth studied the woman curiously, having no idea what was going on but willing to let things play out at this point. She was about 5'7" tall, curvy, long blonde hair pulled into a pony tail, pretty but with such a look of bitter discontent in her eyes and around her pinched mouth that you really didn't notice the prettiness.

"What are you doing here, Patty?" Nathaniel demanded rather harshly. Patty's mouth pinched even more tightly.

"My father sent me as a liaison, Nathaniel," Alex, Garrett and Gavin all snorted in disbelief and Patty's fists clenched in anger. "Where's Dr. Brennan? I need to debrief her," she said angrily.

"You need to turn around and walk away, Patty," Nathaniel demanded his voice full of authority. Brennan chose that moment to demand that someone move and let her out, but her protectors ignored her. Booth started to step forward to get his wife released but was stopped short by the venom that suddenly started spewing from Patty's mouth. And it was all directed at Brennan.

"What's wrong, Nathaniel? Worried that I'm going to hurt your girlfriend's feelings? You all think she's so special, but she's so weak she can't even face me. She has to have four," noticing Booth for the first time, she rolled her eyes and continued with her rant, "make that five big, strong men just to walk her to her cot. Does she sleep with all of you? Is that why you're all so loyal?" Booth had heard enough.

"Hey," he shouted at the same time that Garrett cursed, grabbed his side and danced around allowing Brennan to slip from her secure position. Patty's attention had been drawn to Booth by his shout and her eyes sparkled with interest as she eyed him up and down, stepping closer.

"Although I can see why she would want to sleep with you, handsome," she purred, reaching out a hand to touch his chest. Booth took a step back, unwilling to let this apparently crazy woman touch him but her hand would never have made contact anyway. Her wrist was grabbed midair and she was swung around to face a furious Brennan who released the hold on Patty's wrist with a look of distaste as if the other woman was contaminated and she might catch it from just touching her.

"I don't need them to protect me from you, Patty," she spat. "I'm not the one who sleeps with everything in a uniform. I'd be willing to bet that you've already gone through half the men in this camp in the last three days." The snickers coming from the other soldiers in camp who had gathered closer at the raised voices told everyone that Brennan's assumption was right on the money. Patty's teeth ground together as she glared at Brennan but she didn't try to deny it. She knew the men would just speak up if she did.

"I don't care who sent you her in what capacity. I will not be reporting to you on anything," stepping closer so they were nose to nose, Brennan's voice lowered threateningly. "And if I ever so much as see you look at my husband like that again, I will drop you where you stand." Finished with the awful woman, Brennan swung around and marched toward the tent, ignoring the snickers around her. Booth slid an arm around her shoulders and she slowed her pace, leaning against him.

"Is she drunk or just crazy?" he asked not even trying to keep his voice down. Brennan shrugged.

"She's not drunk, Booth. She acts like that all the time. I did used to think she was only taking her medication sporadically but Angela assures me she's just your average, run of the mill, vicious bitch." Brennan heard the laughter breaking out behind her but had no idea it was at Patty's expense as the red faced woman stalked in the opposite direction. Booth couldn't keep a straight face at her serious delivery of Angela's words.

"You know, Baby, it was kind of hot to see you get all jealous and possessive," he teased squeezing her shoulder. Brennan snorted.

"Oh, please, Booth. Like I would ever be jealous of her and I have a legitimate reason to be possessive. You belong to me," she finished simply. All amusement left Booth as he was overcome with tenderness for the woman beside him.

"Yep," he agreed. "I definitely belong to you." As they entered the tent, they were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't notice the smiles on the faces of the five men behind them. Even Nathaniel wore a smile, it was tinged with sadness, but it was still a smile.

They also didn't notice the woman who had come to stand beside a tree on the other side of camp and watched them with narrowed, hate filled eyes. That was the last time Temperence Brennan made a fool out of her, Patty promised herself. That bitch had taken everything from her and hadn't even been smart enough to appreciate it, she silently ranted, eyes hungrily running over Nathaniel as he entered the tent. But now she would pay, Patty decided and she would pay dearly. With her life if Patty had anything to do with it. A smile of anticipation curled her lips as Patty thought of what Rodrigo would do to Brennan when she turned her over to him.


	21. Chapter 21

**This chapter is also shorter than usual, but I needed to stop it here for it to have the oomph I wanted. Enjoy and please review.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, but I live in hope.**

Half an hour later, everyone was settled onto cots and snores already rent the air but Booth couldn't sleep. He was beyond exhausted and should have fallen asleep the moment his eyes closed, but he could only toss and turn, unable to get comfortable. He could hear Brennan doing the same thing in the cot next to his. Hearing a movement, he looked up to see her standing over him holding her blanket.

"Scoot over," she told him grumpily. With a grin, he made as much room as possible for her in the cramped cot. Spreading her blanket over his, she crawled in beside him and snuggled close. She was asleep before he finished tucking the blankets around her. Wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer, he followed seconds later.

Four hours later, Booth was woken by the sounds of the other soldiers getting up and trying to be quiet about it, which only made them twice as loud. Slitting his eyes, he saw Alex was about to head out of the tent.

"Alex," he called softly, "what's going on?"

"Briefing in an hour," Alex responded, coming closer and keeping his voice down. "She doesn't need to be there for this. You should let her sleep." He encouraged and Booth agreed. Brennan could definitely use the sleep. Nodding, Booth turned his attention to extricating himself from his wife who had wrapped around him during the night, without waking her. While it was true that she could sleep through most anything, she would know the instant he left the bed, just as he would know if it was her. Ignoring Alex's amusement at his contortions, he slipped from the cot, not at all surprised when Brennan grabbed his hand.

"Where are you going?" she demanded sleepily without opening her eyes.

"Just outside, Baby. Go back to sleep," Booth soothed stroking the hair back from her face. Snuggling more deeply under the covers, she nodded and drifted back to sleep. Standing up and stretching, Booth caught an indescribable expression on Alex's face as the other man looked between him and Brennan.

"What?" demanded Booth.

"Nothing. I've just never seen her like that with anyone else." Booth wasn't sure how to take that statement but he chose to just let it go, turning toward the tent flap and hoping there was coffee waiting. Ten minutes later, he and Alex were seated a little apart from the others with steaming mugs of coffee. Booth had deliberately chosen the seating because he had a lot of questions and he figured Alex was his best bet at getting them answered.

"So, Alex, what's the deal with this Patty?" Booth asked calmly. Alex stiffened and looked away as if he was torn about whether or not to answer. Booth patiently sipped his coffee and waited on the other man to make up his mind, confident he would choose to share what he knew.

Long minutes later, Alex sighed and settled himself more comfortably on the fallen tree he had taken as a seat. He really didn't feel like this was his story to tell, but he couldn't see Booth and Nathaniel having a heart to heart any time soon and Booth needed to know that Patty really and truly hated Brennan and would do anything in her power to hurt the other woman. No matter how unjustified those feelings were, Patty could be dangerous in the right circumstances and for the life of him Alex couldn't figure out what the hell the crazy woman was doing here.

"Patty and Nathaniel had a thing a while back," Alex began and Booth stiffened almost regretting that he had asked the question sure that he was about to hear that Nathaniel had dumped Patty to pursue Brennan. Although he had made his peace with Brennan's past relationships he sure as hell didn't want to hear details, especially about her and Nathaniel. Grinding his teeth to keep from telling Alex to just stop there, he continued to listen to the unfolding drama.

"It was always just a fling to Nathaniel but Patty got real serious, real fast." Alex felt more than a little uncomfortable sharing the intimate details of one of his brothers in arms personal life with anyone but there was no other way to make Booth understand the potential threat Patty posed to Brennan. "Unfortunately, that didn't make her stop sleeping around and when Nathaniel found out, he dumped her posthaste. But she's a general's daughter and not used to not getting what she wants so she talked her father into creating a liaison position for her and followed us around for months begging him to take her back. He wouldn't give her the time of day but, according to her, she was making progress."

"If Nathaniel dumped her for sleeping around, why does she hate Bones so much?" Booth asked in confusion noting that Alex looked really, really uncomfortable now. To Alex's credit, he met Booth's eyes levelly.

"To hear Patty tell it, she and Nathaniel were on the verge of reconciliation when Red came on the scene and Patty just focused on Red as the reason Nathaniel wouldn't have anything to do with her. It wouldn't have mattered who the woman was, Booth, Patty would have blamed them rather than herself." Booth had to agree. It sounded like the woman had been, and still was, obsessed with Nathaniel. People like that didn't blame themselves or the objects of their affections when things went wrong, they always targeted someone else and Brennan had been handy.

"Who is her father, Alex?" Alex's breath huffed out in relief at not being asked questions he wouldn't or couldn't answer. No way was he getting into Nathaniel's feelings for Red with her husband.

"Hood."

"Shit," Booth cursed. "I thought we could trust him, Alex. Why would he send someone who is a threat to Bones on this mission?" Alex had no idea. In fact, he had been asking himself the same question all night. It just didn't make any sense to throw a cog in the wheels of a mission you needed to run smoothly.

"I don't know, Booth. But I do know Patty can't be trusted. Red knows that and will protect herself around Patty, but never forget she would like nothing better than to see Red suffer." Booth shivered at the almost prophetic sound of Alex's words, suddenly feeling the urge to check on Brennan and see for himself that she was safe. Rising, he was halfway to the tent before he realized he had left Alex sitting there without a word of explanation.

"I'll meet you in the briefing in a few minutes," Booth threw over his shoulder, ignoring Alex's knowing smirk. Entering the tent, he felt his heart rate settle in relief when he saw that Brennan was right where he had left her, asleep in the cot they had shared last night. Not wanting to disturb her, he squatted beside the cot and just looked at her. He grinned when one of her eyes cracked open a slit.

"What are you doing?" she demanded grumpily. Laughing, he reached over and smoothed the hair away from her face.

"Just looking at my beautiful wife," he assured her softly.

"Come back to bed," she invited throatily, still half asleep. Despite the lack of privacy, Booth was sorely tempted. Leaning over, he kissed her softly, pulling back with a laugh when she tried to wrap her arms around his neck and tempt him back to bed. "That will have to wait till later," he teased, tenderly stroking her cheek as her eyes drifted shut. "That's it, Baby. Go back to sleep." Dropping a kiss on her forehead, he stood, thinking she was asleep.

"I'll be holding you to that later promise, Booth," she assured him around a yawn. He was sure she would and he was looking forward to it. "I love you, Booth." Her voice trailed off as sleep once again claimed her. He knew she couldn't hear him, but he squatted back down and returned the words anyway.

"I love you, too, Baby." Knowing she was safe and secure, he could now turn his mind to the mission briefing he needed to get to.

Leaving the tent and heading toward the one where everyone was currently congregating, he automatically scanned the surrounding area but saw nothing of concern. Entering the other tent, he took a seat between Alex and Garrett as Nathaniel took the lead and started going over how they planned to lure Perez out of his stronghold. It was actually quite simple.

Rodrigo had already informed Perez that Brennan was in the country and even though his location was currently unknown, they had a couple of people high enough in his organization to successfully feed false information about Brennan's current location to Perez and his people. The psycho had already made it known that he didn't trust anyone else to retrieve Brennan and would be going after her himself. As badly as the team wanted to take out Rodrigo first, they couldn't do that. If word of Rodrigo's demise got back to Perez before they had a chance to enact their plan, they would never be able to lure him out into the open. Besides, Rodrigo wouldn't interfere with this part of the plan, he wanted Perez out of the picture just as badly as they did.

The real crunch would be taking out Rodrigo before he had the chance to set himself up in Perez's stronghold and call in reinforcements. Nathaniel seemed to think Rodrigo would leave Brennan alone after Perez was out of the picture but Booth's gut told him otherwise. The sick, creep had become fixated on her and she wouldn't truly be safe until he was no longer breathing and Booth would be more than happy to take care of the problem. Just give him a clear shot and bye-bye freak.

Brennan came awake to something hard poking her in the back and a familiar female voice whispering, "Wakey, wakey Dr. Brennan," in her ear. Booth could wake her up as many times as he liked but she had absolutely no patience whatsoever with whatever little game Patty was playing right now.

"What?" roared Brennan coming upright on the narrow cot and glaring at the smiling woman standing beside her, pointing a gun directly at her forehead. Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave Patty a long, disdainful look. "What do you want, Patty?" Brennan's voice told the other woman that she wasn't the least little bit intimidated even by the deadly weapon pointed at her head. Patty blinked in confusion. She had expected the anthropologist to cow before her now that she had the upper hand. _Maybe Brennan was too stupid to know that she was now in charge,_ Patty assured herself.

"I want you to die a slow painful death for coming between me and Nathaniel," Patty hissed viciously. Brennan wasn't moved. She had heard it all before. In the beginning, she had even felt a little sorry for Patty and tried to make her understand that she and Nathaniel were just friends. Those feelings of pity had soon faded when the other woman had targeted her with vicious, untrue gossip and the little accidents started anytime Patty was in the general vicinity.

"I didn't come between you and Nathaniel, Patty. You did that all by yourself." Brennan wasn't really trying to inflame the woman's anger but, hey, the truth was the truth.

"Get up, Bitch," Patty demanded, eyes gleaming with hatred.

"Why?" asked Brennan calmly, making no move to do as she was told. A cold, cruel smile moved over Patty's mouth.

"Because I'm taking you to Rodrigo. Now get up," she demanded, her voice rising in agitation. Brennan shook her head.

"I don't think so," she said calmly. She'd had more than enough contact with Rodrigo and had no intention of going anywhere with this woman.

"Don't think I won't shoot you," Patty threatened, moving the gun closer to Brennan but not quite close enough for Brennan to be able to grab the weapon and wrest it away before Patty could pull the trigger. She would just have to bide her time.

"You won't shoot me here," Brennan answered, her voice ringing with certainty. _Damn, she was right_, Patty thought, _she couldn't shoot her here._ The only way her plan to get Nathaniel back would work is if they had no idea she was the one to turn the doctor over to Rodrigo. She was certain Nathaniel would never forgive her for that. Frantically searching her mind for a way to make the other woman cooperate, she suddenly smiled evilly.

"Fine. If you don't come with me, I'll just have to give Rodrigo the coordinates to this camp and let him come for you himself." Patty blinked in surprise when Brennan snorted at the threat. She had thought it was a pretty good one.

"Even you wouldn't do that, Patty. You wouldn't take the chance of Nathaniel being injured in the crossfire." Patty's eyes narrowed furiously at Brennan's refusal to take her seriously. She'd had about enough attitude from the other woman.

"He promised Nathaniel would be safe," she assured Brennan, refusing to think about there being no way to keep that promise in open battle. Narrowing her eyes, she leaned closer to Brennan. "Understand this, _Dr. Brennan_, I don't give a damn about the rest of them and I will make sure that your husband suffers greatly before he dies." Brennan fought a shiver as she looked into eyes that appeared to have left sanity far behind. Refusing to let Patty see she was shaken, she held her position stubbornly.

"Have it your way," Patty singsonged, unhooking a long range radio from her belt. "Come in, Rodrigo," she said into the radio, her eyes never leaving Brennan. _She's just trying to scare me,_ Brennan assured herself, warily watching the other woman for any opening to disarm her.

"Yes, my dear. I have been waiting to hear from you," that awful, insidious voice coming through the radio sent blind panic rushing through Brennan.

"I have those coordinates for you," Patty said calmly, greatly enjoying seeing Brennan pale at her words.

"No! Wait!," Brennan broke into the conversation, "I'll go with you," she told Patty, ignoring how much the smug satisfaction spreading across the other woman's face made her want to punch her.

"Never mind, Rodrigo," she told the laughing man, who had heard Brennan give in to Patty's demand. "I'll contact you in three hours with coordinates for you to pick up the package."

"Very good, my dear," one psycho praised the other. Rodrigo was more than pleased with the results. He had no desire to tangle with the soldiers in that camp. His forces might outnumber them but they were smart, resourceful and felt they had right on their side. In his experience, that was an almost unbeatable combination. At the very least, they would seriously diminish his numbers and for his plan to take over Perez's operation to work he needed every loyal man he had. Patty bringing the good doctor to him was perfect, putting only her in danger and she was certainly expendable.

Stepping away from the cot, Patty kept the gun trained on Brennan and motioned for her to get up. Left with no other choice, Brennan rose from the cot and faced the other woman angrily. She knew she had no choice but to go with the woman, to let her think she had won, but in reality, she would bide her time until she could overpower the horrid woman and keep her from revealing this camps location to the equally repulsive Rodrigo. The minute the other woman gave her an opening, she was so going to kick her ass and she was going to enjoy it.

Everyone's attention was drawn from Nathaniel to Gavin as he rushed into the tent. Booth felt a shiver of foreboding work its way down his spine at the look of panic on the young man's face. Something huge was very wrong for a trained soldier to wear that look. Feeling the almost overwhelming need to check on Brennan, Booth stood up to leave the tent.

"Where's Red?" Gavin demanded, coming to a stop directly in front of Booth.

"She's sleeping," Booth answered, in the process of pushing past the other man, his gut telling him Brennan needed him. Now.

"What's going on, Gavin?" demanded Nathaniel, planting his bulk squarely in front of Booth. Booth barely noticed as he pushed past both men.

"Hood didn't send Patty, Nathaniel. Rodrigo did. To snatch Red." Since Gavin was practically shouting, Booth had no trouble hearing him despite the fact that he was already out of tent. He broke into a run.

"Shit," snarled Nathaniel, taking off after Booth, every other man in the tent right behind them. Nathaniel and his team followed Booth into the sleeping tent while the others stopped outside. Booth knew she was gone the instant he entered the room because he couldn't feel her presence nearby, but he walked to the cot and looked just to make sure. Closing his eyes, he sent up a silent prayer. _Please, God, keep her safe until I can find her._


	22. Chapter 22

**Happy Holidays everyone. This will be the last chapter until Monday. I will be out of town for a few days, so I hope you enjoy. And all I want for Christmas is reviews so remember to push that little button at the bottom of the page.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine but hope springs eternal.**

"We'll find her, Booth," Alex assured him softly, placing a supportive hand on Booth's shoulder. If it had been anyone else touching him and feeding him meaningless platitudes, he would have let go of the fury building inside him and punched them but he felt a growing kinship with this particular team member that allowed him to take some comfort from the words.

Nathaniel was already back outside the tent, shouting at everyone to spread out and look for Patty and Brennan but they all knew they wouldn't find the two women in camp. Despite that knowledge, they all spread out. If the women weren't in camp, maybe they could locate their trail leading into the jungle.

Booth wanted to rail at the other man and demand to know how the hell this had happened, but he really couldn't. Brennan had been snatched right out from under all their noses. He was more responsible for her safety and security than anyone else on the planet and he was willing to accept that he had screwed up, but he was getting damned tired of being kept on the outside and not being given information that could be vital to keeping the love of his life safe. Idly noting that Brennan's personal pack was gone, he strode from the tent to have a little talk with Nathaniel.

"Nathaniel," snapped Booth, drawing the other man's attention.

"I'm sorry, Booth," the younger man told him earnestly. Booth could see the worry clearly etched on the other man's face but right now, he didn't give a crap how sorry or worried Nathaniel was. He was only interested in getting some answers. Ignoring the apology, Booth proceeded to make his feelings clear.

"I don't want you to be sorry, Nathaniel. I want you to quit screwing with me and tell me what the hell is going on. This is my wife who this whole damn scheme is putting in danger and I'm pretty damn sick and tired of being kept out of the loop." Booth kept his voice as calm as possible but the bite of underlying rage was unmistakable, as was the steely glint in his eyes.

"I honestly haven't been keeping things from you, Booth," Nathaniel objected not at all surprised at Booth's snort of disbelief. "A lot of this stuff is ancient history," he explained, "and it didn't dawn on me that you would need to know most of it." Booth had to give him that one. There was no way the man could have known Booth would need to know about his previous relationship with the loony Patty. But Nathaniel sure as hell should have known if his ex was kooky enough to try something like this.

"How the hell could you not know your ex was crazy enough to do something like this?" Booth demanded and Nathaniel felt his face burn with embarrassment.

The unvarnished truth was that Patty had been an easy lay and he had never been interested in it being anything else. She had become clingy and possessive and her sleeping around had just given him the excuse he needed to end things with her. He wasn't proud of himself for treating any woman like that but since he had ended things with her, he had done his best to forget she even existed. But Booth was right, he should have paid enough attention to notice that her possessiveness had grown into obsession and he had already known that. It had been impossible to miss her personal attacks on Brennan at every opportunity but he just had never suspected she would use anything other than spiteful words to try and hurt Brennan, whom she blamed for his change in affections. Nathaniel really didn't have an adequate answer to Booth's question, but before he had to admit that, Joe came around the side of the sleep tent calling Booth's name.

"We found the trail where they headed into the jungle. Looks like it should be pretty easy to follow." Joe told his friend. Nodding his thanks, Booth rushed into the sleep tent, grabbed his pack and the gun he had carried yesterday and headed back out of the tent. He was met by every man in camp armed with packs and guns, apparently ready to help him go get his wife back. Booth vetoed that idea before Nathaniel could.

"As grateful as I am for the offer, guys," Booth told the gathering, raising his voice to be heard, "these men and I will go after my wife." He pointed at Brennan's former team and the others nodded their understanding. As good as they all were, there was no way a large group could move through the jungle as stealthily as a smaller contingent, and they needed the element of surprise on their side. It was the only advantage they had.

"Are you sure, Booth?" asked Joe, coming up beside Booth and eyeing Nathaniel and the others as if he wasn't quite sure of their capabilities.

"I'm sure, Joe. But, thanks," Booth assured his friend.

"Joe," called Nathaniel as Joe started to walk away, "I need you to pack up camp and move to the alternate site. We can't be sure our position hasn't been compromised."

"What about you guys? How will you get to the other site?" Joe queried after nodding to acknowledge the order.

"We'll radio back as soon as we catch up with Red and Patty and you can leave transport for us if we're not going to make it back before you pull out. But, if you haven't heard from us in three hours, assume we've been captured and get the hell out of here. We'll find our own way back to camp if that situation arises." Nathaniel could see that Joe wanted to argue about the get the hell out of here order, but he had been a soldier for a long time and Nathaniel knew he could count on the other man to do as he was told. Grabbing his own pack and weapon, Nathaniel followed Booth, Alex, Grant, Garrett and Gavin who had already been swallowed up by the jungle.

"Move it, Bitch," snapped Patty, poking Brennan sharply in the back with her gun for what seemed like the tenth time in as many minutes. Hands clenching into fists, Brennan fought the urge to just turn around, take the gun away from Patty and beat her to death with it and if she poked her with that damned thing one more time, she wasn't sure she could control herself.

Pretending to stumble, Brennan went down on one knee, making sure to break several branches on the surrounding foliage as she did so. She wanted to leave Booth and the others a very clear trail to follow. She knew they wouldn't be far behind and she had a plan that depended on them catching up to her and psycho bitch fairly quickly. Back in the tent, she had clearly seen that Patty was utterly serious about giving Rodrigo their camp coordinates and if she had done that, Brennan had no doubt she would have shot her just for fun. After all, her role as a spy would already have been compromised and she really did hate Brennan enough to kill her in cold blood. And that was ok with Brennan, she wasn't really a big fan of Patty's either and was fast approaching the level of hating her with the fires of a thousand suns.

She had decided to go with Patty to protect the location of the camp but she had no intention of allowing the crazed woman to turn her over to Rodrigo. She was simply allowing Patty to think she had the upper hand long enough to find out what she knew about Rodrigo, Perez and their operations. She was confident in her abilities to take Patty down and _God, she was so looking forward to that._ So much that it almost scared her how badly she wanted to inflict bodily harm on the other woman.

She had expected to have to be subtle in marking a trail for Booth to follow and had started out by dragging her feet and kicking up the underbrush. When she ascertained that Patty was apparently too stupid to notice, she had started reaching out and grabbing onto branches, purposely leaving them broken and twisted and the idiot hadn't even noticed. She was willing to bet she could have pinned a sign to a tree saying hey, we went this way with an arrow giving direction and the moron wouldn't know to take it down.

Picking herself up off the ground, she brushed at the dirt and leaves on the knees of her pants. _Time to get to work and find out what blondie knew. She had some ass kicking to do and didn't want to put it off any longer than absolutely necessary. Crazy or not, Patty had picked the wrong woman to mess with today. _

"So, Patty, how did you get mixed up with Rodrigo?" Brennan asked conversationally, continuing her leisurely pace.

"Why should I tell you?" Patty demanded suspiciously. Brennan shrugged carelessly.

"Just making conversation. Surely you're not afraid to tell me. Not afraid that I'll escape and repeat whatever you tell me, are you?" she goaded the crazy woman with a gun pointed at her back, glad Booth couldn't hear her. She would definitely be in for his don't agitate the psycho speech if he did. Patty laughed uproariously.

"Hardly. In a couple of hours, you're going to be out of mine and Nathaniel's lives forever and then we can be happy together, so I guess you deserve some answers. An old friend of yours, a Mr. Robins, put me in touch with Rodrigo. He thought we could help each other out and he was right. Since you made sure Robins was out of the loop on this one, Rodrigo needed someone on the inside and I needed someone to make you go away so it was a match made in heaven." Patty's voice was bright and cheerful as if she was telling a good friend an entertaining story, not telling the person she considered her mortal enemy how she had plotted with another sick freak to cause her death.

_A match made in hell is more like it,_ thought Brennan sourly, chilled to the bone that these two people whom she had never done anything to had just focused their deadly attentions on her. Then she began to get angry. _What the hell was wrong with them? Them? What the hell was wrong with her that she had apparently become a crazy magnet, attracting insane, homicidal people like she was the freaking pied piper of lunatics? _Tamping down her anger with a great deal of difficulty, Brennan turned her attention back to the now silent Patty.

"Do you have any idea what kind of man Rodrigo is, Patty? He's a killer, a child molester. Surely you don't trust him to keep his end of the deal?" Brennan demanded, stopping and slowly turning to face blondie. She didn't want to make any sudden movements and get herself shot before she was ready to take the other woman down but she wanted to see Patty's face when she answered. She had learned enough from Booth over the years to know that Patty's facial expression would tell her if Patty had gone completely over to the dark side or if she still had a chance at redemption. _She didn't_, Brennan realized as Patty's face took on a sultry look and she actually licked her lips.

"Oh, yes, Dr. Brennan, I know exactly what kind of man Rodrigo is. He and I understand each other very well." Brennan thought she was going to be sick at the husky tone of the other woman's voice. "You have no idea what you've been missing with him, but, don't worry, Dr. Brennan, you'll find out soon enough. I'm sure he'll want to entertain himself for a while before he turns you over to Perez." Patty was laughing so hard at the horrified expression on Brennan's face that she never saw the anthropologist's left arm come up and knock the gun from her hand. She didn't see her right hand come toward her face, but she sure as hell felt it when the heel of Brennan's right hand came into contact with her nose, crunching cartilage and blood spurted everywhere.

Brennan was infuriated, utterly enraged with everything about this awful, amoral woman. Her willingness to sacrifice the lives of good men and women for personal gain, for something that would never even be hers. Her diabolical plotting to cause the death of someone she didn't even really know for some imagined slight. That she had slept with Rodrigo and liked it, Brennan refused to even think about, but she wasn't about to forget that the sick woman had planned to turn her over to the man to be violated in every way possible before she was killed. The awful woman had threatened the lives of the man she loved and some of the dearest friends she had, she had pulled a gun on her and forced her into the jungle and she had called her a bitch too many times to count over the last few years. Every time Brennan thought she was gaining control of her fury something new and horrible that Patty had done to her or someone she cared about over the years would pop into her mind and set her off again.

She was so angry that her skin felt tight as if it couldn't contain the rage still building inside her and she desperately needed to release some of the rage before she just exploded, blew into little pieces scattered all over the jungle. With a satisfied smile, she saw that Patty was still on her feet and moving toward her with arms outstretched, fingers curled into claws as she reached for Brennan's face. _Oh, yeah, that would work_ _for a little tension reliever,_ thought Brennan as she smoothly sidestepped Patty's wild charge and landed a hard right to the other woman's ribs. Clutching her side and gasping for breath, Patty leaned over and Brennan stepped back, giving her time to recover. Remembering her little encounter with Perotta, Brennan had pulled that last punch. She wasn't ready for this to be over just yet. She had a whole hell of a lot of aggression to release and unfortunately for Patty, she was the only bad guy in the vicinity.

Within half a mile, Booth could feel some of his tension melting away. The trail was so clearly marked as to be blatant. After ascertaining from the others that Patty was good at schmoozing with the brass but apparently didn't know diddly squat about the jungle, he knew that Brennan was leaving them the broken branches and trampled underbrush to follow.

"That's my girl," he whispered approvingly, squatting to examine where it looked like someone had fallen, but the footsteps leading on from there were even and neither woman's gait indicated an injury. Booth's guess was that Brennan was using any means at her disposal to slow the other woman down and give them time to catch up. _They couldn't be far behind_, Booth assured himself, picking up the pace as he and the others moved almost silently through the heavy undergrowth.

Forty-five minutes later, they heard muffled sounds of distress coming from a small clearing just ahead. Spreading out, they surrounded the clearing and, on a signal from Nathaniel, all moved in at once, only to stop and stare in slack jawed surprise at the sight before them.

"I was beginning to think my trail wasn't clear enough," Brennan's voice brought six male heads swinging around as she stepped out of a stand of trees behind them, tucking a wicked looking gun into the waistband of her pants at the small of her back. Booth didn't know whether to hug her for being safe and unharmed or laugh at the sight of Patty hogtied and gagged at the base of a huge tree, so he did both. Laughing in sheer joy that she was safe, he strode to his wife, pulling her stiff, shaking form into his arms and hugging her tightly.

"God, Baby, I was so worried. Are you ok?" She didn't relax against him but she nodded her head. "You have got to stop getting yourself kidnapped, Bones," he demanded before getting a good look at her face, knowing with that one glance that his comment had been entirely the wrong thing to say. He had thought she was shaking from fear or the release of adrenalin, but she wasn't scared. She was absolutely livid, her blues eyes almost glowing with anger and she was shaking with the attempt to keep a lid on that anger. _Uh, oh, Patty had obviously pissed her off and he had just given her a target to release some of that rage._

"Seeley Booth," she gasped in outrage pulling out of his arms and glaring at him, "it's hardly my fault if CRAZY PEOPLE," she yelled the last two words, throwing a baleful glare at Patty who was writhing around on the ground and making grunting noises behind the gag, "seem to be so desirous of my company." Booth had no idea the effort it took her not to stride over to the incapacitated woman and give her a good, swift kick, or ten. Garrett snickered at Brennan's words and her eyes narrowed as she turned her attention to him.

"_You think this is funny?"_ she demanded incredulously. The young man had the good sense to shake his head and keep his mouth shut.

"Why did you leave camp with her, Red?" Alex asked to divert Brennan's attention. He'd seen her mad before but he'd never seen her this pissed, but, hey, he was willing to take one for the team.

"Oh, you know how it is, Alex. It was a nice morning for a little stroll in the jungle with my good friend Patty. And, oh yeah, she was holding a freaking gun to my head!" _Wow, sarcasm, she was on a roll_, thought Booth, knowing it was better to just let her get it out than to try to calm her down when she was this pissed. Even though Alex laughed at her answer, her attention shifted to Nathaniel with no provocation whatsoever.

"And you," she snapped, "I have to tell you, Nathaniel, that I find your taste in women and your lack of judgment in getting mixed up with HER utterly appalling." _When she was right, she was right,_ thought Nathaniel.

"Come on, Red. Give me a break here," Nathaniel cajoled with a grin, "at least I had the good sense to dump her." They all ignored Patty's renewed struggles to free herself and the furious grunts over that statement. Brennan's snort told them she considered Nathaniel's excuse to be far from adequate but she didn't make a verbal rejoinder. Eyeing Grant and Gavin who were standing as still as statues as if afraid any movement would draw her notice and her sharp tongue, she, apparently, decided she didn't have anything to say to them. Turning, she stomped back toward the grove of trees she had stepped out of earlier and entered them with Booth right behind her.

He found her sitting on the ground with her back against a giant tree, her arms wrapped around her up drawn knees and her head buried in her arms, rocking back and forth. Sitting down beside her, he slipped an arm around her unresisting shoulders and pulled her against him. With a heavy sigh, she turned toward him, her arms wrapping tightly around his chest and her head landing on his shoulder.

"Want to talk about what all that was about?" he asked softly stroking her hair. For a long minute, he didn't think she was going to answer him then he was confused by her answer.

"I hit her, Booth. A lot," She sounded like that should explain everything but it just didn't.

"Who? Patty?" He knew it was a stupid question given the circumstances, but with Brennan it was best to be sure of your facts. "Well, of course, you hit her, Baby. She had a gun and you had to disarm her," he soothed, but Brennan shook her head furiously, not at all soothed.

"No, Booth. I didn't have to hit her to disarm her," she told him, scrupulously honest, "I hit her because she made me angry and I wanted to. I didn't want to stop hitting her," she whispered the last as if it was some shameful secret and to Brennan it probably seemed that way. She was the queen of control and it had to be frightening and confusing for her to lose that control, be unable to reign in those emotions making her take a punch at someone.

Booth knew this was hard for his wife to admit, that she felt like she was exposing some weakness within herself or some giant character flaw, but the truth was that after the last couple of weeks, if she hadn't been as strong as she was, she would have broken long before now. Now he just had to convince her of that. Pulling her fully into his lap, he rested his chin atop her head.

"Bones, you're the strongest person I've ever known. You've held strong and fought things most people don't even realize exist. All of this has been hard on both of us, Baby, but you need to remember one thing," he waited until she lifted questioning eyes to his to finish. "You need to remember that you didn't want to stop hitting her but you did. You stopped, Bones." Looking into her luminous blue eyes, he could read her mind. She desperately wanted to believe what he was telling her, that it was ok for her to lose control that she hadn't done anything to be ashamed of but there was a little of niggle of worry that if it happened again she wouldn't be able to stop and that made her a bad person. Tipping her face up with a finger under her chin, he brushed his lips against hers.

"You're the best person I know, Bones." This kiss was a little longer but still just a brushing of the lips. "You have a kind heart and compassionate nature," he forgot what he was saying as her mouth opened under his, inviting his tongue in to play. No longer interested in words herself, she turned in his arms until she was straddling his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and settling herself firmly against the growing contours of his body, never losing contact with his voracious lips and teasing tongue.

Long, pleasure filled minutes later, Booth finally managed to pull his hands and mouth from his wife's open shirt before he said to hell with it and took her where they sat. As much as they both needed the release, they both needed a bit more privacy than was currently available. Whimpering her displeasure at the loss of his hands and mouth on her body, Brennan dropped her forehead to rest on Booth's shoulder as they both tried to catch their breath. Seconds later, Brennan's head shot up, her eyes rounded with excitement.

"I have a surprise for you, Booth," Booth grinned at her excitement, but he wouldn't exactly consider the fact that they were both extremely hot and horny a surprise. Accurately reading his thoughts, Brennan snorted.

"Not that, Booth," she assured him.

"What then?" Booth asked, smoothing the hair back from her face. A slow, victorious smile spread across her face.

"I know how we can take out Rodrigo. Today. Within the next couple of hours, actually," she told him, her voice full of satisfaction.


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey, guys, I'm back. Did you miss me? I actually did miss you guys, so please accept this chapter as a late Christmas present. Please return the favor and review.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

"What do you mean, you know how we can take out Rodrigo today? Explain. Now, Bones," demanded Booth. Looking more than a little perturbed at her husband's tone, Brennan crawled off his lap and stood, dusting off the knees of her camouflage cargo pants.

"We don't have much time, Booth. I should explain it to everyone at once," she called over her shoulder as she started back to the clearing. Cursing, Booth rose, dusted himself off and followed his wife, knowing it was pointless to demand she come back. Making it back to the clearing just behind Brennan, Booth noted that Grant was squatted beside a furiously muttering Patty, assessing her injuries. Wincing, Booth noted that Brennan had really done a number on the other woman's face. Her nose was obviously broken, both eyes turning dark underneath and swelling and blood splattered her face and t-shirt. There was another fist sized bruise on her left jaw and he imagined her body was covered with bruises and scrapes. As mad as Brennan had been, he couldn't imagine that she had taken it easy on the other woman. Grant turned to Brennan and calmly asked her how Patty had come to be injured. Booth winced and waited for the explosion. It never came. Brennan just rolled her eyes at Grant.

"She fell, Grant. A lot," her voice was heavy with sarcasm, but at least she wasn't yelling anymore.

Patty's eyes narrowed in fury. "You bitch," she spat at the unimpressed Brennan, "when they untie me, I'm going to kill you with my bare hands," she yelled, struggling to loosen the ties around her wrists.

"I hope you try," Brennan taunted with a goading smile. Ignoring Patty, she turned her attention back to Grant. "You should put the gag back on," Brennan urged. "Her vocabulary consists of vulgarities and threats and she is extremely annoying." Grant turned his head to hide his smile at Brennan's recitation of what she saw as facts. Patty screamed in rage at the possibility of being gagged again and Brennan snorted, leaning over to whisper to Grant. "She does that a lot, too. Put the gag back on," she urged and this time Grant took her advice, quickly replacing the gag and looking at Patty reproachfully when she tried to bite him. Standing up, Grant walked over to the rest of the group, standing on the other side of the clearing, talking softly enough that Patty couldn't overhear.

"How is she?" asked Nathaniel. Not that he cared at the moment. He was too pissed by her actions to feel much concern or sympathy for her injuries. He just needed her to be able to move and not slow them down.

"Broken nose, at least three bruised ribs, multiple bruises and abrasions," Grant ticked off the injuries on his fingers. "Nothing broken and I don't think she has any internal injuries. It won't be comfortable for her, but she can move whenever you're ready." Shooting Brennan a laughing look, he teased, "Red, I don't really think she tripped and fell. Did you hit her?" He looked shocked at the very idea until Booth saw the twinkle in the other man's eyes.

Brennan regarded the laughing Navy Seal with narrowed eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't start with me, Grant," she warned.

Still grinning, Grant stepped back and raised his hands in surrender. "Do you need medical attention?" he asked, a little belatedly to Booth's way of thinking. Brennan snorted again.

"From her?" she asked, shooting Patty another baleful look. "Hardly. Nathaniel, I know how we can get rid of Rodrigo today," Brennan said calmly and the other conversations ceased, all eyes turning to her. "Patty is scheduled to radio the creep in an hour and a half and inform him of the quadrants to pick up his package," she turned to glare at Patty angrily. "That would be me," she explained, turning back to the men. After her earlier outburst, not a single one of them told her they already knew that. "So we just set a trap and capture him when he comes to meet her." Seeing all kinds of problems with the plan, Booth rubbed a hand over his nape. He really hated to burst Brennan's bubble, but they would have to address potential problems whether they used the plan or not. Looking at the others, he saw that each and every one of them knew there were significant problems with this plan but they were all waiting for him to mention them to Brennan. Some brothers in arms they were turning out to be, throwing him to the wolves, or in this case, his irritable wife. Giving them all a look that clearly told them how much he appreciated their support, he turned to his wife.

"Bones," he started slowly, "to use this plan, we'd have to get Patty to cooperate. Do you really think she's going to do that now?" Brennan's eyes narrowed and she stepped up until she was toe to toe with her husband.

"I said I had a plan, Booth. I didn't say it would be easy," she gritted out through clenched teeth and Booth immediately knew that the anger Brennan had previously shown was in response to something a lot bigger than Patty pissing her off. Before Booth could question her about what was going on, Brennan's head snapped around and she pinned Nathaniel with narrowed eyes.

"Take care of it, Nathaniel," she ordered, just as he started to squirm under the assessing gaze she leveled at him.

"Take care of what?" he asked cautiously. Brennan looked at the rest of them as if they were all idiots or speaking a foreign language, as if she was the only one making any sense.

"Make her cooperate," pointing a finger at Patty she spoke slowly, as if they weren't capable of understanding her if she spoke faster. Luckily they all knew her attitude was a response to the situation and no one took offense.

"How?" demanded Nathaniel incredulously.

"How am I supposed to know, Nathaniel? She used to be your girlfriend, not mine. I'm sure you can think of something." Brennan returned irately. Brennan was now pacing, repeatedly rubbing her forehead and Booth knew her current behavior wasn't about them having problems with her plan, something else entirely was freaking her out. Catching her arm on her next pass in front of him, he gently turned her to face him.

"Hey, what is it?" She wrapped her arms around her waist protectively and shook her head. "What is it, Baby?" he asked softly, stepping closer and tipping her chin up, his breath catching at the stark fear in her eyes. She was terrified but was trying to be strong and hide that from the rest of them.

"We have to stop him, Booth," she whispered, shuddering as she remembered Patty's gleeful sharing of what Rodrigo planned to do to her before turning her over to be tortured and killed by Perez. "_I need him to be gone, Booth_," she said, her voice raw and shaking from trying to hold back her emotions. As a scientist and a bestselling author, Brennan had an almost unlimited vocabulary, but she didn't know how to verbalize that she had a knot in her stomach that told her with utter certainty that if Rodrigo ever got his hands on her again, she was dead. Being a scientist, she believed in what you can feel, taste, see, what you could test and verify with scientific theories, not in feelings. In fact, she had often scoffed at Booth's gut "telling him something" especially early on in their partnership. But she had been around Booth long enough to come to respect and listen to his gut just as he listened to her when it came to the sciences. She knew that her gut was trying to tell her something and that she should listen to it.

Looking at his wife, Booth could see that she meant that literally. She needed the creep to cease to exist so that she could feel safe again. So that she could return to her world of science and their life together without looking over her shoulder, waiting for him to come for her again. And if they didn't take him out here and now, the sick bastard would come for her, Booth had no doubts about that. He completely agreed that Rodrigo needed to go. The world would be a better place without that creepy son of a bitch in it.

Taking her arm and leading her several feet away from the group, Booth pulled her now shuddering frame against him and wrapped himself around her. He wanted her to know she was safe and loved, that he would never let anything happen to her. After less than a minute in Booth's arms, she relaxed against him, wrapping her arms tightly around his chest and laying her head on his shoulder. Booth tightened his hold and buried his face in her hair.

"It's going to be ok, Baby," he whispered. "I will never let him hurt you again," he soothed, his hands running tenderly up and down her back.

Shuddering, Brennan nodded her head. She was terrified of something she couldn't identify or measure and the very fact that she was having gut feelings and listening to them pushed her even more off kilter. Yes, she was afraid of Rodrigo and Perez. She wasn't stupid and she knew they were very bad, very dangerous men. Heck, she had seen up close and personal what they were both capable of and it was enough to make her never want to be anywhere near either man ever again. But they hadn't given her a choice.

They had come after her and that pissed her off. They had come at her through her family and friends and that infuriated her. Rodrigo had taken JJ and Chloe just to taunt her and let her know he could get to anyone at any time. That had given her the resolve to participate in this mission and she had sworn to herself that Rodrigo would not walk away from the confrontation. She would make sure of that. But when she recognized the gut feeling for what it was, she had freaked out a little and started to doubt her ability to get the job done.

As soon as she felt Booth's arms wrap her up tight, she had started to relax and the awful knot of fear and rage in her stomach had started to loosen. She had even felt her doubts in her own abilities melt away as if they had never been as she was surrounded by her husband's warmth, his love, his scent, his very essence as if he was sharing his courage with her when she faltered. In that moment, she knew she would never love anyone or anything more than Seeley Booth and they were going to talk about starting a family when they got home from this trip to hell. And they would both be going home. Every single one of them. Together, she and Booth were an unbeatable team and they had the backup of some of the best soldiers in the US military. They would not let two low life scumbags defeat them. She knew she had to move from Booths arms to achieve her goals, but she took another long minute to just hug him back and savor the feelings this amazing man roused in her.

She felt warm, safe and loved in Booth's embrace and sometimes she never wanted to move out of his arms. She just wanted to stay there forever and bask in the glory of his love, secure in the knowledge that nothing could hurt her as long as Booth had his arms around her. This was one of those times. Even though he was squeezing her hard enough that she had to take shallow breaths, she didn't care. She could stay there forever. But she knew as much as she wanted to just demand that Booth take her home immediately, they had come here with a job to do, it was now time sensitive and they couldn't do that job until they turned loose of each other. Giving him an extra hard squeeze, she pushed against his chest and he reluctantly let her move back, but didn't release her until he tilted up her chin and saw she was fully back in control. She had fought down the fear and anger and was ready to do whatever they had to get this done. He had never loved her more than he did at that moment.

Raising his head, Booth met Nathaniel's eyes across the clearing. "We will take care of this," Booth told her firmly and Nathaniel nodded his agreement. They were going after Perez in two days and Booth knew they would be taking a big risk going after Rodrigo with Brennan's barely formed plan. If they failed to take Rodrigo out, Booth had no doubt that he would warn Perez of the impending attack in retaliation, but if Rodrigo came for Brennan, it would present the perfect opportunity to take him out of the picture, permanently. Even though a little more warning would have been nice, they couldn't afford to pass up this opportunity. They had a lot to do and not much time to do it in.

Booth wanted his wife to feel safe again, to actually be safe again, to never have to worry about either of these sick freaks coming after her again. He wanted her to know for sure she was safe from them, that they could never, ever cause her or her family harm again and to do that they had to take them out. And to do that, they had to come up with a game plan. In that moment all he wanted was to take Brennan home, to get back to their normal routine of getting shot at by murderers. Hell, that was a cake walk compared to this. He wanted them to settle into their married life and be a normal couple. With an inward snort, he acknowledged that there was nothing normal about their lives and they would never be your average couple but her wanted them to be able to give it their best shot and to do that, they had to get this done. Taking out Rodrigo would be getting rid of half of their problem, so they needed to get their asses in gear and come up with a workable plan, pronto. One that would not fail them.

Giving Brennan one more tight squeeze, he whispered, "Bones," and waited for her to look up at him. When she did, he was awed by the love and trust shining in her eyes. He suddenly felt ten feet tall, like Batman, Superman and the Green Lantern all rolled up into one. She had absolute faith that he would take out Rodrigo and Perez and keep her safe. He could not, would not let her down. Gently brushing the hair from her face, he leaned down and kissed her tenderly. Pulling back, he stroked a thumb across her cheek and gave her a confident smile. "Come on, Baby. We have some planning to do and some bad guys to catch." Turning, but keeping an arm around Brennan's shoulders, Booth met Nathaniel's eyes. "Let's do this," he said, his voice hard and determined.

Nodding, Nathaniel and the others walked over to Booth and Brennan who were far enough away from Patty that she couldn't overhear them. She was eying all of them angrily, making grunting noises behind the gag and trying to loosen her bonds. Booth eyed the struggling, battered woman speculatively. They needed Patty's cooperation to have any chance of making this work and he was betting she wasn't feeling kindly enough toward any of them to right now to voluntary offer her assistance. She was looking at Brennan with fury and hatred and glaring at the rest of them angrily. _How the hell were they going to get her to help them?_

Turning to Brennan, Booth urged her to tell them exactly what Patty and Rodrigo had said to each other and give them any little tidbits that Patty had let drop during their trek through the jungle as well as what Patty and Rodrigo had said to each other. To make this work, they needed every scrap of information they could get.

"She contacted Rodrigo on her radio and informed him she would call back and in three hours and give him the coordinates for their meeting," Brennan responded calmly.

"Are you sure Rodrigo will be coming for you?" Alex asked doubtfully. It had been his experience that scum bags like Rodrigo rarely got their hands dirty. They pawned that out to their subordinates, especially when there was possible danger involved. Plus Rodrigo was a sick freak, but he was smart and devious and Alex knew he wouldn't just blindly walk into a trap. They would have to work for this one.

"I'm sure," Brennan nodded, "Patty told me that Rodrigo would be meeting us herself. He doesn't trust anyone else to "keep me under control", she sneered in disgust over the last words and the mood lightened considerably as the men all ginned at her attitude. "All we have to do is make Patty contact him in," pausing, she checked her watch, "an hour and fifteen minutes. Patty and I will be at the designated meeting place to lure him in." Booth was already shaking his head.

"No, Bones, I don't want you anywhere near that creep," Booth told her adamantly. He shuddered at the thought of her being anywhere near Rodrigo, especially when it was likely the man would be bringing armed escorts. Booth knew that Brennan thought Rodrigo was only doing this to get back in Perez's good graces, that it wasn't personal. Booth didn't believe that for an instant. It just didn't make any sense. Rodrigo was counting on them taking Perez out for him so he had no intention of handing Brennan over to the other man and he was too anxious to get his hands on her for it to be anything other than personal. Another man wanting to hurt his wife made it pretty damn personal to Booth and he had no intention of letting that happen. Plus, Rodrigo wanted Brennan alive but Booth didn't doubt for a second that the man would kill Brennan and Patty without hesitation if he realized he had been set up. No way was he taking that chance.

"Booth, Rodrigo is a real creep, but he's not stupid. Patty said he would be coming by helicopter. You and I both know he won't land if he doesn't see me," Brennan argued, laying a calming hand on Booth's forearm. "Besides, you will all be close enough to cover us. I trust you to have my back, Booth." Booth had to grin at her use of modern lingo. She always looked so pleased with herself when she used it and got it right. He had to admit that she was right. No way would Rodrigo land that chopper without a visual on Brennan. He also had to admit that Brennan's plan was brilliant in its simplicity. Lure the bad guy into a trap of his own making and take him out. Goodbye bad guy. Problem solved. There was just one giant problem with this plan and she was currently tied up under a tree across the clearing.

"We can't do this without her," Booth jerked a hand over his shoulder indicating that Patty was the her in question. "I seriously doubt she's in a mood to help us right now. Any suggestions?"

After almost a full minute of silence, Nathaniel sighed, "I'll talk to her," he offered in a voice that he would do his duty but he wouldn't be happy about it. Booth really didn't care about Nathaniel's issues with Patty. All he cared about was safely completing this mission and taking his wife home where she would be safe. And to do that, they needed Patty's cooperation. Booth's eyes told Nathaniel that he damn well better convince the other woman to help them no matter what he had to do to earn that cooperation. The message was so clear that Nathaniel nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Before I talk to her, you all need to know that we have received orders that Rodrigo is to be taken alive and…," he was cut off by a furious Grant.

"No!" Grant almost shouted, "no way does that son of a bitch walk away. Not after everything he's done." Booth was startled by the change that came over the Navy Seal. Up until now, he had seemed to be a very laid back, happy go lucky guy. That was no longer the case. The man standing at attention, staring Nathaniel down was 6' 3", 260 pounds of hard faced, battle ready soldier whom Booth wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley when he had that look in his eyes. Booth knew that Grant was speaking primarily of the trauma Rodrigo had put his two little girls through and, as a father, he fully understood the other man's rage that Rodrigo would dare to try to hurt his children. They all wanted the bastard dead and they were going to have to figure out how to go about making that happen quickly because if Patty didn't contact Rodrigo at the appointed time, Booth knew he would disappear and their chance would be lost.

Brennan walked over to Grant and laid a hand on his forearm. The hands fisted at Grant's sides relaxed and the look of fury in his eyes softened as he attempted to smile at Brennan. Booth had always known she had a magic touch, he just hadn't realized that it worked on anyone but him and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. But this wasn't the time or place to figure it out.

"Grant, I want that awful man gone as much as anyone, but I don't want any of you to get into trouble," she told him softly. This time he managed to give her a real smile, touched by her concern. He had been in tight spots with this woman before and had seen her exhibit enormous courage, intelligence and ingenuity. He respected her for that. He loved her for having the guts to sneak two little orphaned Nicaraguan girls into the country almost single handedly right under the nose of customs, the CIA and the State Department because she was concerned for their safety and it was the right thing to do. She had brought the daughters he now loved more than life itself into his and Gena's lives. She had given them the children they could never have and for that, Brennan would always hold a special place in his and Gena's hearts. He would do almost anything for her, but not this. He needed to be able to go home and tell his daughters, who had both been having nightmares since seeing Rodrigo again; that the monster was dead and could never hurt them again and he needed it to be the truth. Before he could explain that to Brennan, Alex spoke up.

"What are we supposed to do with him if we take him alive?" he demanded of Nathaniel.

"Turn him over to the State Department," Nathaniel raised his hands for silence when angry muttering broke out among his men. "They assured me that he will be turned over to the Nicaraguan authorities to stand trial for crimes against humanity."

"Do you really believe that?" Garrett demanded angrily, because he sure as hell didn't.

"No, I don't believe them," Nathaniel answered, rubbing a hand across his brow.

"I don't understand," Brennan broke in, looking at each man's face. They all, including Booth, looked angry, but Grant looked like he wanted to tear something apart with his bare hands and Alex looked disgusted.

"That's CIA speak for, give him to us and we'll take care of everything," Alex answered Brennan's question.

"That's bullshit," snapped Grant. "Nathaniel, you know the CIA will never turn him over to the Nicaraguan authorities and even if they did he has enough political clout to never face any charges." Nathaniel did know that. If they took the son of a bitch alive, Rodrigo would wind up walking away free as a bird.

"I agree, Grant. I just wanted you all to know this will be a very big deal when we get home. Even though we broke off contact with everyone except Hood when we dumped the plane, those orders came through before we jumped so officially we will be disobeying a direct order. And there could be serious consequences." Nathaniel met the eyes of each one of his team members, making sure they understood they could each and every one be risking their careers and possible jail time if they did this. Nathaniel had no intention of letting Rodrigo live and he intended to take the blame to protect his team members. He knew his military career would be over but it would be worth it to rid the world of a lowlife like Rodrigo and know the creep could never threaten the people he cared about again. He was fairly sure that with him claiming responsibility and his father's influence, he could save his team member's careers but they would still probably face disciplinary action so they needed to know the possible repercussions of doing this. Each team member met his eyes squarely, giving him a firm nod. Yeah, they all understood and they were in.

"I'll do it," Booth said firmly and every eye turned to him. He had listened to Nathaniel and knew that the other man had every intention of sacrificing his career and maybe years of his life spent in jail to make sure this murdering, child molester didn't walk away from this. Booth couldn't let him do that. He was every bit as skilled a sniper as Nathaniel and it was his wife the bastard was threatening. It was his responsibility to take care of the problem. Looking at the others, Booth saw varying degrees of surprise and interest in what he had to say from the men. Brennan looked confused. "I'm not military so I don't have to follow their orders. They can't do anything to me if I happen to accidentally take out Rodrigo," he explained to his wife. Her brow furrowed for an instant and then he saw understanding dawn in her eyes. He also saw the sorrow and regret that he was basically offering to kill someone for her. Brennan's small hand slipped into his and she squeezed his hand to let him know she was sorry she had put into a position where he had to do this. Before Booth could reassure her that he was actually ok with taking out someone like Rodrigo, Nathaniel broke in.

"I can't let you do that, Booth," Nathaniel sighed. "They won't be able to officially charge you but the people we'll be pissing off don't play by the rules. They will find a way to punish you. If they can't get you fired, your career will come to a screeching standstill. They'll block every promotion. They'll come after you hard and use anything they can to get to you. And, Booth, these people have long memories and real influence. You and Red have a life together now and you don't need that kind of heat messing it up. I'll take care of it," he stated firmly as if the matter was resolved.

Booth looked at Nathaniel in surprise. The man had just given his and Brennan's relationship his blessing. Booth felt his respect for the young man go up another notch. If their positions had been reversed, Booth didn't think he could have gotten to the point of accepting that Brennan was permanently out of his reach quite so quickly. Booth had no doubt that Nathaniel loved Brennan and would have spent the rest of his life trying to make her happy if she had returned even a portion of that affection. He knew that Nathaniel was making the offer more for Brennan's benefit than his but it was the mark of a truly honorable man to accept the man you couldn't possibly see as anything other than an interloper at best and a foe at worst into you midst and treat him with respect. For Nathaniel to be willing to sacrifice his career and freedom so that Booth wouldn't get into trouble was an indication of just how much he did care about Brennan. He was trying to assure that Booth would be there to see to her safety and happiness.

"I appreciate the offer, Nathaniel, but this one is my responsibility. He's trying to hurt my wife so that makes it my problem," Booth met Nathaniel's eyes squarely.

"This is my mission, Booth. Hell, we wouldn't even be here if we had killed the son of a bitch when we had the chance, so it's my responsibility to clean up our mess," Nathaniel insisted.

"The hell it is," snapped Grant. "Nathaniel, you know what he put my girls through when their parents were killed, what he would have done to them if you hadn't gotten them out. They wake up screaming every night since he took them again, just from being in the same room with him. Rodrigo's mine." Grant now stood toe to toe with Nathaniel, his stance saying he wouldn't budge on this.

"Stop it," demanded Brennan, "we don't have time for you boys to fight for the position of alpha male." Grant stepped back from Nathaniel and both men gave Brennan a sheepish smile.

"She's right," Booth agreed, giving the other men a chastising look. "If we're going to do this, we have to get moving. Nathaniel, you need to talk to Patty." Booth's voice held the note of command but Nathaniel didn't take issue with the other man giving him orders because he was absolutely right.

"Gavin," said Nathaniel, slipping back into the role of leader, "contact base camp. Tell Joe to bring every man and all the firepower they can pack and to double time it here." Gavin hurried off to get his radio and do as ordered. Giving the others a nod, Nathaniel reluctantly walked toward Patty who had stopped her struggles to free herself some time ago and who was now warily watching him approach.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey, people. I've had company since Friday, so my writing time has been limited. They just left so I'm all yours for a couple of days anyway. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming. T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Sitting down beside Patty, Nathaniel gently undid and removed her gag. Nathaniel didn't love Patty but he didn't hate her either, most of the time she was simply a nonissue. When they did bump into each other, if Brennan wasn't there, Patty tried her best to seduce Nathaniel back into bed but Nathaniel wasn't interested and it had nothing to do with Brennan. He just knew that he and Patty would never be happy together and he suspected that most of his appeal to her was the fact that he didn't want to have anything to do with her. Growing up a general's daughter, Patty was used to getting anything and anyone she wanted. When he had dumped her, she had been furious, screaming that "No one dumped her", but Nathaniel had seen no signs of her being hurt. She had been chasing him ever since, determined to get him back but Nathaniel thought it was probably hurt pride driving her instead of the love she professed to feel for him. She had been so petted and spoiled by the general and his wife that he doubted that she was capable of loving anyone but herself.

Patty worked her jaw and glared at Nathaniel in resentment that he hadn't ordered his men to release her upon their arrival. She had been so angry with the man sitting beside her for so long and had let that anger guide her actions so much that she barely recognized herself anymore. She had met Nathaniel at a social function hosted by Congressman Pearson where she had been acting as her father's representative, since he couldn't make it. Looking across the room, she had seen the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. She had instantly been smitten with a bad case of lust so she had walked over and introduced herself, flirting for all she was worth. She had been walking on cloud nine when the night was over and Nathaniel had asked her out for the following weekend. She had fallen for him hard and fast. _Who wouldn't? _He was gorgeous, funny, kind, and generous and even though her father was a general and she met more than a few military men on a regular basis, she had never met a more confident, honest man.

Patty had fallen in love with Nathaniel on their second date. She had been used to the men who asked her out taking her to expensive restaurants and trying to impress her. Nathaniel had taken her to a street fair and she had been charmed. They had walked around hand in hand and he had won a huge purple bear in a shooting gallery game. When he had turned and presented the bear to her with a charming smile and a kiss on the cheek, she had lost her heart. They had slept together that night and he was a fantastic lover. Patty had begun to dream of weddings and happily ever after. She had seen that Nathaniel didn't feel as strongly toward her as she did toward him and had set out to change that, but she wasn't used to having to work to keep men interested and it seemed like everything she did just made him back off. He appeared to be becoming almost indifferent to her and that scared her to death. Even though Nathaniel had already told her firmly that he wasn't ready to settle down, that they should just enjoy each for as long as they were both happy in the relationship, she was in love with this man. She wanted to marry him, build a life with him and she wasn't used to not getting what she wanted.

His reactions to her calling him several times a day and showing up at his place unannounced brought out a streak of possessive jealousy that she had never known she possessed. She had been certain that he was seeing someone else and started following him. She had become clingy and nagged constantly and he had pulled further and further away. Then she'd had the bright idea of making him jealous by going out with someone else. He didn't even notice and she began to despair. If she knew who had pulled his interest from her, Patty would gladly have tracked them down and cheerfully shot them in the face.

In a misguided attempt to make him admit to the love she was convinced he felt for her she began to spread it around, hoping it would get back to Nathaniel and he would come to her in a jealous rage, demanding to be the only man in her life, which was exactly what she wanted. It didn't exactly work out that way. When Nathaniel found out, he hadn't even cared enough to get angry with her. He had simply told her to lose his number that he didn't want to see her again and it had broken her heart to realize that someone had obviously stolen his love away from her. She had hurtled ugly words and a few inanimate objects at his head as he calmly left her apartment. She had cried for days, then she had gotten angry. Everything she had ever wanted had been in the palm of her hand and someone had snatched it away. She would find that bitch and make her pay.

She had begun to follow Nathaniel and when he noticed and told her to stop it, she had hired a private investigator to do it for her. She had to find the other woman and see what she was up against so she could figure out how to lure Nathaniel away from the boyfriend stealing bitch and back to her side. She knew she could make him come to his senses and realize they were meant to be together eventually but she had needed to see the woman who had stolen the man who had stolen her heart. Several months later, Patty had been excited that Nathaniel and his father were coming to dinner at her father's and she was going to be spending the evening with the man she loved. She had dressed carefully and primped for hours getting ready. Nathaniel had been polite, but not really talkative, but that was ok. She got to be near him and he even smiled at her once. She went home that night positive they were on the verge of reconciliation. She crashed to the earth the next day when the PI informed her that he had found the other woman.

She would never forget the first time she had seen the great Dr. Temperence Brennan. She had opened a packet of photos shot by the PI and there she was: tall, slim, beautiful and brilliant. Patty had hated Brennan instantly with a jealous fervor that almost frightened her and her jealousy and rage increased with each photo of the doctor and Nathaniel together. There were only four and it was clear they were all from the same day so Patty had to assume they were hiding their relationship for some reason, by not going out in public together but they couldn't hide it from her.

While Nathaniel hadn't been interested enough to get to know Patty that well, Patty had learned a hell of a lot about him during their short time together. She knew a man in love when she saw one and that is exactly what she saw when she looked at each of the four photos. In one, Brennan was looking up at Nathaniel and laughing, presumably from something he had said and the look on his face broke Patty's heart all over again. It said_ I adore this woman _to anyone who bothered to look. Patty looked at the other three photos and he was looking at Brennan in every one and wore an identical expression of adoration. He was always leaned in protectively close to her and was touching her arm or shoulder in every photo. Nathaniel had never looked at her like that and while he was physically affectionate when they were alone, he hadn't really been touchy feely in public. Patty could feel her rage building as she looked at her competition. With a scream of fury, she tore the photos into tiny pieces. She would find out everything she could about this other woman and she would make her pay.

She had hired the same PI who was following Nathaniel to dig up all the dirt he could about Brennan and then she began to research her on the net. She was even more beautiful that Patty had at first thought in the grainy, long range photos the PI had provided. She was a bestselling author, a forensic anthropologist and Patty learned from her father that she did some work for the government from time to time. In fact, the different branches of the government were always competing for her time and attention because she was acknowledged as the best in her field all over the world. _Lovely,_ thought Patty hating Brennan more each second, _is there anything the freaking bitch can't do_?

Patty took a lot of pleasure reading all about Brennan's past, feeling not a twinge of sympathy that the other woman had been abandoned by her parents and had to spend time in foster care. The PI was unable to get any details about her time in foster care, but Patty hoped she had suffered every day. Reading on, she gasped when she saw that Brennan's father had killed a deputy director of the FBI and had gotten off without punishment when Brennan had offered herself up as a viable suspect. Patty could understand that. She would do anything for her father and she couldn't imagine how hard it had been for the reticent Dr. Brennan to do what she had, potentially damaging her career irrevocably. Patty could feel herself softening toward Brennan and ruthlessly stamped out the sympathy and understanding she felt. She couldn't afford to feel anything but anger and hate toward the woman who had stolen her future.

Looking at the situation from all angles, Patty had finally decided that since Nathaniel was frequently out of the country on assignment where Brennan had no access to him, she needed to find some way to put herself in his path during those times. She had gone to her father and asked him about a liaison position without telling him why. At first he had resisted his little girl going into government work, but Patty had pouted and he had instantly given in, just as she had known he would. He always got her what she wanted. She even debated on whether to just tell Daddy that she wanted Nathaniel but decided against it. She knew she could get him back on her own and she set out to do just that.

Her father being who he was, she was allowed to pick and choose her assignments and she made sure they coincided with Nathaniel's current deployment as often as possible. She put herself right in front of him at every opportunity and he completely ignored her. Angry and hurt, she had turned to other men to reassure herself of her attractiveness to the opposite sex. And there had been a lot of men. As she became more discouraged by Nathaniel's attitude, she had needed more and more reassurance, but she wasn't going to give up on the love of her life. She continued to follow wherever he went absolutely convinced that it was just a matter of time until he came back to her.

Then she had seen him in person with the wonderful Dr. Temperence Brennan and she had actually felt her heart break as she had watched from the shadows. _No one that beautiful should be that smart_, thought Patty jealously, _it just wasn't fair to the rest of womankind. _ Nathaniel's eyes followed the other woman all over the camp if he wasn't by her side. Either way, she never left his sight. Since they were in their own camp, Patty knew she wasn't in danger. From anyone but Patty that is. Patty would have gladly drooped her where she stood and then done a happy dance around the campfire.

She watched as Nathaniel called Brennan over and handed her a plate of food, patting the ground beside him to indicate she should sit and eat. Smiling, Brennan took the food and sat and something inside Patty snapped when Nathaniel reached up to brush something off the doctor's shoulder and his hand lingered much longer than it should have, definitely becoming a caress as he tucked stray strands of hair she was trying to blow out of her face because her hands were full behind her ear. Patty wanted to howl in pain and fury as Brennan turned to thank him with a smile. Even in the darkness and across several feet of separation, she could see the look in Nathaniel's eyes.

It was the look she wanted him to give her, Patty, not some other woman, a long, lingering look filled with love, respect and desire. She wanted to march over, grab Brennan by the hair and tear her apart with her bare hands. But she couldn't do that. It certainly wouldn't win her any points with Nathaniel, as smitten as he was by the anthropologist. So, she would just have to go after the woman some other way and she knew just what to do. She was a pro at being a bitch to other women. She had been known to make them cry and run away the next time they saw her and she took great satisfaction in being able to do that. She would have Brennan in tears in less than 15 minutes; she assured herself as she walked over to the campfire and joined the five men and Brennan.

Twenty minutes later, Patty walked away from the campfire furious and confused. She had subtly been insulting everything about Brennan for the last twenty minutes and the woman hadn't responded to even one insult. She just blinked at Patty blankly as if she didn't understand that she was being insulted. She was a genius, Patty knew, so it just wasn't possible that she didn't understand. She was playing some kind of game and Patty couldn't figure it out. Patty's eyes narrowed and she pointedly asked Brennan about her family, knowing from the PI report that she had been abandoned by that family. Before Brennan could respond, Nathaniel jumped in and told Patty he needed to talk to her. Patty had been thrilled to have a minute alone with the man of her dreams, until he opened his mouth. He told her in no uncertain terms that Brennan was off limits and Patty was to leave her alone. It infuriated Patty that he was protecting the woman from her when he should be all about protecting Patty.

She left the campfire but there was no way she was going to obey Nathaniel's dictates. She would figure out Brennan's game and the bitch would be sorry she had chosen Patty's boyfriend to steal. Patty only had three days at the camp and she watched Brennan and Nathaniel like a hawk. She had to admit they were very discreet. If it wasn't for the way Nathaniel looked at Brennan, she would never have realized they were involved intimately. Every night she expected them to enter the same tent but they never did. They had set up a separate tent for Brennan while two other tents served as barracks for the men sent to protect the apparently irreplaceable Dr. Brennan while she identified remains for the government. _They treated her like a freaking national treasure_, Patty fumed as she watched Nathaniel and the rest of his team taking orders from the very bossy doctor.

Patty was infuriated that the whole team marched to Brennan's orders and that they had formed a solid wall of protection to protect Brennan from the less than subtle insults Patty had been hurtling her way every chance she got. Brennan had yet to respond to even one, as if she was above such things and that only made Patty angrier.

The first accident had truly been accidental. Trying to get Nathaniel to notice her, Patty had volunteered to help move some equipment from beside the mass grave where Brennan was recovering bodies to a new tent that had been erected for just that purpose. Patty had picked up a piece of equipment, rather she had tried to pick it up but it was so heavy that she only managed to scoot it a couple of feet. Unfortunately, that two feet had put it at the very edge of the grave and the ground under the heavy piece of equipment fell away, hurtling the equipment straight toward the head of Dr. Temperence Brennan. Patty thought it was unfortunate that the doctor had such good reflexes and was able to move out of the way. She certainly wouldn't have shed any tears if it had, indeed, landed straight on Brennan's head.

Brennan had looked up and seen Patty smiling in delight just as she noted something hurtling toward her head. She crawled out of the grave and gave Patty a severe dressing down about how important it was to have her equipment in working order and that Patty should be more careful. She never mentioned the fact that Patty had tried to kill her. That oversight had been corrected by Nathaniel. He had pulled Patty aside and told her in no uncertain terms to stop following him, they were never going to get back together and to stay the hell away from Brennan, absolutely no contact at all. He had actually accused her of trying to kill Brennan because of a jealousy that had no basis in reality, refusing to believe that it had been an accident as she insisted. He had told her that he and Brennan weren't involved, but when Patty screamed at him that he was in love with the other woman, he didn't deny it. And that made Patty angrier and more determined to get him back than she'd ever been before.

Patty, of course, didn't believe him about them never getting back together and she had completely ignored his orders to stay away from Brennan. Every time she caught the woman alone, Patty approached her and tried to start a fight. Brennan just blinked at her as if Patty was from another planet and she didn't understand anything about her. Patty was beginning to think that Brennan really was from another planet or she was an android. There was no other way to explain her lack of emotions and lack of response to Patty's continued and very personal insults. She found out that Brennan wasn't quite as oblivious as she had thought when she approached her and Brennan flat out asked her why she was being such a bitch to her. Patty was shocked at first, then every bit of anger that had built up over the months since Nathaniel dumped her gushed forth and all that rage was directed at Brennan. Patty called her every name she could think of, accused her of stealing Nathaniel away from her and ruining her life. She ignored Brennan's startled denials that she wasn't and never had been involved with Nathaniel in an intimate relationship. Patty didn't believe her and continued to spill forth her anger and spite until Brennan simply walked away.

The next time Patty was near Nathaniel, she saw Brennan looking between the two of them as if they were specimens under her microscope. It gave Patty the creeps until Brennan apparently finished her assessment of the situation then she saw the pity in Brennan's eyes when she looked her way and that made everything ten times worse. She would not have the home wrecking slut feeling sorry for her.

She had gone after Brennan with every bit of ammunition she had from the PI. She told everyone every detail of Brennan's past that she'd had access to. _Let her see how it was to have everyone pity you_. Patty thought it would make her feel better to tell everyone about Brennan but it didn't. She found out that no one openly gossiped about the anthropologist so Brennan didn't even know she had done it and that defeated the purpose of the whole thing. To Patty's surprise, Brennan had approached her on three separate occasions and told her in no uncertain terms that she and Nathaniel weren't involved. This just made Patty angrier because if Nathaniel hadn't dumped her because of Brennan that meant it was something about Patty herself that had caused the breakup and she just couldn't accept that. Her verbal attacks against Brennan had increased to a level of ferocity that Nathaniel had finally ordered her to leave the camp. He had already banned her from the gravesite and had a guard posted whenever Brennan was in the grave to prevent any more accidents. Patty hadn't had a choice and was forced to leave the camp. Furious, she swore that she would make Brennan pay for ruining her life. Brennan had ignored the screamed threats and recriminations Patty hurtled at her and gone back to her work.

Patty had made it her mission in life to make Brennan as miserable as she possibly could. She showed up at every site she could and baited and insulted the good doctor constantly. Brennan mostly ignored her but that didn't give Patty pause, she just pushed harder and harder, so angry inside that she was almost out of control. She searched desperately for Brennan's trigger, but the woman didn't seem to have one and that made Patty livid. Patty knew she was going from a person she actually liked and respected to one she didn't even know and no one really liked but she just couldn't seem to stop herself. Instead of trying to work through her anger and accept that Nathaniel was beyond her reach, she nursed that anger, feeding it daily until it consumed her. She didn't care about anything but getting Nathaniel back and punishing Brennan.

She spent the next three years trying to do just that. And she took it to extremes. Brennan started to have a lot of little accidents and Patty was usually in the general vicinity. She wasn't responsible for all of the accidents but she did cause the majority of them, like making sure that Brennan was given water that hadn't been treated and filtered. Patty was absolutely gleeful when Brennan was too sick to sit up for three days, but that little stunt got her banned from any site where Brennan was present from then on which meant she rarely go to see Nathaniel. And that's when Robins had called, suggesting that Patty should meet Rodrigo, that he could help her out with her little problem and she had been angry enough and obsessed enough to actually agree to the meeting.

Patty had found Rodrigo creepy but she had liked his plan so much that she had ignored her response to him personally and made a deal with the devil. She would feed him information about Brennan's whereabouts and he would make sure that Brennan was no longer a problem in her life. She had wormed her way into this mission without her father's consent or approval. She knew he was going to be furious but she was sure she could handle him. She had been furious when Rodrigo had put Nathaniel in danger by trying to divert their plane and trying to capture them when they jumped. She had contacted Rodrigo when she found out they were safe, furiously yelling at him. Rodrigo had calmly told her if she didn't want Nathaniel in danger then she should deliver the doctor to him herself. Patty had thought about it for only a few minutes before agreeing to his plan.

She knew the man was using her to carry out some nefarious plan but she didn't care as long as he got Brennan out of her life permanently. She knew that Brennan was married now and that Nathaniel would never fool around with a married woman so she was out of his reach but he wasn't coming back to Patty and that just fed the anger swirling around in the black void that had become her conscience and possibly her soul. She had slept with one of the soldiers last night specifically to have access to his weapon which she had taken and used to force Brennan into the jungle, sure that this would be the last time she ever had to see the boyfriend stealing bitch and that when Brennan was gone for good that she, Patty, would feel better and all would, once again, be right with her world. But nothing was right with her world at the moment. Brennan had beaten the crap out of her, barely breaking a sweat in the process. She was now tied up under a tree watching as the others either looked at her in disgust or worse, avoided looking at her at all while they made a big deal about the great Dr. Brennan. She watched warily as Nathaniel broke away from the others and headed in her direction. As much as she wanted to talk to the love of her life, she couldn't imagine that what he had to say to her right now would be the words of love she longed to hear.


	25. Chapter 25

**I know you guys have been waiting for this. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

Patty eyed Nathaniel warily. He had removed her gag but made no move to remove her bindings. Currently, he was sitting with his arms propped on his up drawn knees staring at nothing. The silence was killing her but she would be damned if she spoke first. She gasped as he suddenly turned toward her and pinned her with those beautiful blue eyes. To Patty's dismay, they were completely expressionless, no anger, no love, no hatred, nothing. She wasn't prepared for his first question.

"What happened to you, Patty? How did you go from the nice girl that I first met to this?" He gestured toward her being trussed up like a Christmas turkey and for the first time, she felt shame wash over her. She desperately wanted to blame the changes in herself on Nathaniel but she'd had some time to think while the others were talking and she was beginning to realize that she and she alone was responsible for what she had become.

"Why couldn't you love me, Nathaniel?" she questioned just as softly. Her spine stiffened and anger flood through her at the pity on his face when he turned to answer her.

"I don't know, Patty. We don't get to choose who we fall in love with. It just happens." Some of her anger left her at the sadness in his voice and she knew he was hurting just as badly as she was from unrequited love. Surprisingly, instead of making her glad that he was suffering, the knowledge made her soften toward him. She loved him too much to want to see him in pain no matter the reason.

"We need your help, Patty," he just laid it out there and waited for her response. Patty glared at Brennan across the clearing and a black hatred and need to see the other woman destroyed gripped her.

"Why would I ever help her?" Patty spat, her dislike of Brennan apparent in her voice and face.

"Because it's the right thing to do and you used to know that, Patty. Because she doesn't deserve any of this. She's one of the best people I've ever known in my life. She deserves for this to be over so she can get back to her life and her family." Nathaniel didn't hear the wistfulness in his voice as he spoke of Brennan but Patty sure as hell did and it infuriated her.

"You love her, don't you, Nathaniel?" She demanded, tears of pain running down her face because she already knew the answer. Nathaniel met her eyes levelly.

"Yes, Patty. I love her enough to want her to be happy and Booth makes her happier than I've ever seen her. I know you don't believe me but she never felt about me the same way I felt about her, so I do know how you feel, Patty. And it sucks royally, but you've let it twist you into someone that I doubt your father would even recognize. And what about you father, Patty? What's he going to say when we take you home and tell him you were cooperating with Rodrigo? That you kidnapped Red for that sick bastard?" Patty's face paled at Nathaniel's questions and he realized she had never given the consequences a thought. She had always been handed what she wanted on a silver platter and had never faced any type of consequences for her unacceptable behavior. _Oh, God, her father would be ashamed of her, he might even hate her. If her actions got out it would definitely ruin his career. Even worse, since she was a government employee, she was subject to disciplinary action. Oh, God, she could go to jail for a very, very long time. What the hell was she going to do?_

"Please don't tell my father, Nathaniel," she begged, tears running freely down her face now. "Please." Nathaniel looked at her incredulously. _How the hell did she think they couldn't tell her father about this?_ "I'll do anything you want me to if you don't tell him," she bargained desperately and Nathaniel looked at her assessingly. This had been easier than he thought and he wasn't sure she wasn't just telling him what he wanted to hear and would turn on them with Rodrigo.

"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked suspiciously. She turned a face ravaged with grief and despair on him.

"I swear on my father's life that I won't betray you, Nathaniel," she promised desperately. Nathaniel nodded. He actually believed her but he would have to convince the rest of the team and he had a few more things to say to Patty first.

"I want you to remember that it's not just Red's life that you're putting in jeopardy with your little stunts. I would die for every single member of my team and you're just blithely putting them in danger as if they have no value, as if they're unimportant. Well, Patty, they're important to me and if you screw us over and one single person on our side is injured, you won't be able to run far enough or fast enough to escape my wrath." Looking directly into his eyes, Patty shivered at the ice she saw there and knew he was telling the truth, if she crossed them, he would kill her without a second thought. "Are we clear?" Nathaniel's voice was hard and cold and Patty swallowed hard. She nodded because she couldn't speak past the lump of fear in her throat. "But, if you help us," he continued more softly, "You get to go home, get yourself some help and get your life back together." Patty looked at him with hope shining in her eyes, she couldn't believe after everything she had done that would be willing to do that for her. "But, Patty, if you don't get some help and continue your little games with me and Red, I will tell your father everything. Think about it," he instructed as he rose and headed back to his team. He knew he would have to do some fast talking to get them to agree to the deal he had offered Patty but was sure he could do it.

Nathaniel outlined his talk with Patty and met each team member's eyes individually. He could see they didn't trust Patty but they did trust him and were willing to do what he thought was best. That was until he met Brennan's eyes and immediately knew she was working herself up into what could only be classified as a snit fit. Booth saw it, too, but before he could get to his wife and try to calm her down the angry anthropologist was nose to nose with Nathaniel.

"Are you freaking kidding me, Nathaniel? After everything that spawn of Satan has done, you want to just let her go home and not be punished at all? NO! FREAKING! WAY!" Brennan made no attempt to keep her voice down and Booth glanced around to see Patty glaring at her across the clearing. Going to his irate wife, Booth grabbed her hand and pulled her resisting form several feet from the others noting that she never stopped glaring at Nathaniel. Booth got in her line of sight and cupped her face in his hands making her look at him. She didn't look happy that her dressing down of Nathaniel had been interrupted.

"Hey," Booth said softly, "calm down, Bones. I know you don't like it, but we can't do this without her help." She had her stubborn look on and it almost made Booth smile but they didn't have much time to work with her so he went in for the kill. "Bones, you have to decide which you want more. Patty punished when I'd say you've already made her very sorry she messed with you." Brennan smiled at the thought of the beating she had given the blond bimbo. "Or do you want to stop Rodrigo? Permanently?" Brennan sagged at the question. There wasn't really a choice to be made and Booth knew it which was exactly why he had used that logic on her. Sometimes she hated how well he knew her. Giving him a look that let him know what she thought of her limited choices, she nodded her consent to the plan. The she surprised the hell out of him.

"I want to talk to her," she demanded and her voice told Booth the request wasn't optional.

"Uh, Bones, do you really think that's a good idea?" Booth looked doubtful and rubbed his earlobe between his thumb and forefinger as he did when he was very nervous about something.

"Yes, Booth, I think that is a spectacular idea. I don't think Patty knows Rodrigo as well as she thinks she does," Brennan shuddered in revulsion as she remembered the other woman bragging about sleeping with the pervert. "I think she needs to know exactly what kind of man we're dealing with." Brennan looked at him levelly and he knew he wouldn't be talking her out of this. Besides, he didn't think it was such a bad idea. Nodding, he followed Brennan toward Patty, motioning the others back when they moved to intercede.

Brennan sat down several feet away from Patty and wrapped her arms around her up drawn knees. Booth knew this was going to be hard for her to do but she was determined. Patty glared at Brennan but Brennan didn't even look the other woman's way, "I'm not sorry I beat you up," she began and Booth barely held back his snort of laughter. No one had ever suggested that Brennan should be a good will ambassador and with good reason. Patty struggled to get loose of her bonds but didn't say anything, glaring angrily at the anthropologist. "But I want to tell you about your good friend Rodrigo, things that aren't in the files you would have access to if you even bothered to check him out." She turned toward Patty and looked at the struggling woman levelly.

Patty stilled instantly, stunned at the emotions swirling in the eyes of the woman she had labeled as an emotionless android. This was no android sitting before her. It was a woman filled with pain and rage and grief. Pain, rage and grief that had apparently been caused by the man she had so blithely accepted for what he seemed to be. Even though he gave her the creeps, Brennan was right and she had never checked him out. She had simply grasped at the solution to her problem that he had offered. _Oh, God, what had she done?_

Brennan shuddered as her thoughts went back to those awful three days when she had been held captive by Perez. For just a moment, she didn't think she could do it, share those personal, painful memories with this woman who had hated and tormented her for years and who had, even on occasion, tried to kill her. Then she stiffened her spine. She had to believe that there was still a part of Patty that would be horrified enough by those events to help them make those two scumbags go away forever. So, she started talking. She told her everything in minute detail, ignoring the tears running down the other woman's face and the way she leaned over and vomited at the gorier parts of the story. She told her of Rodrigo's sexual preferences and what he had done to her to try to get her to come on this mission. When Brennan finished her story, Patty was sobbing openly, horrified by what she had heard. And as much as she hated Brennan and didn't care what the other woman thought of her, she had to make something clear.

"I never slept with Rodrigo," she sobbed, "I was just so angry at you and I wanted to shock you." Brennan couldn't have cared less and her look told Patty so.

"I've been trying to tell you for years that Nathaniel and I never had a sexual relationship," Brennan said not noticing the way Booth stiffened then relaxed at that statement. "I really don't care if you believe me or not, but it's the truth. I know you don't like me and to be honest, if I never see you again it will be way too soon. But these men are killers, child molesters and drug dealers, Patty. They need to be stopped and we need your help to make that happen. We also need to be able to trust that you won't turn on us. Can we trust you, Patty?" Brennan searched Patty's face but couldn't really tell what the other woman was thinking. So, she turned to her fallback. Booth. "Can we trust her, Booth?"

Booth searched Patty's face and saw a woman who was just now realizing how far out of the boundaries of decency and the law she had stepped. He saw horror and sorrow at what she had done. He also saw a determination to set things right. "Yeah, Baby, I think we can trust her." Brennan leaned over to untie Patty's bonds.

"If you even think about turning on us, I'll know. And I will take you out in a second," Brennan whispered in Patty's ear. Patty turned a wide eyed look on Brennan and saw that she meant every word. With a little shiver of fear running down her spine, she nodded her understanding. Brennan finished untying Patty and motioned the others over while Patty squirmed and wiggled, trying to restore feeling to her abused limbs. Looking up at her team and her husband, Brennan only had one request. "Let's get this done."

As soon as they started asking questions, Patty spilled her guts. She willingly shared that Rodrigo had given her the coordinates of three different clearings in the area big enough to land a helicopter. Her job was to get Brennan to one of those sites and radio Rodrigo the coordinates. Looking at their map of the area and the coordinates Patty supplied, they decided there was really only one spot they could make it to in the remaining time they had. Patty supplied that Rodrigo had told her he could be to any of the coordinates within twenty minutes which meant he was closer than they would have liked but it didn't really give him any time to set up an ambush, which was good. The rest of the team had arrived by that time and Nathaniel quickly showed them the positions he wanted them to take up when they arrived. While the men were concentrating on that, Brennan got a canteen of water and helped Patty wash the blood off her face and hands. Patty looked at her in disbelief.

"Why would you help me?" she asked softly. Brennan shrugged.

"If you have blood all over you, Rodrigo might ascertain that his plan has been compromised and we need him on the ground for our plan to be successful." Patty almost smiled at the explanation. It was definitely Dr. Brennan speak but the other woman didn't have to help her. She sure as hell wouldn't have helped Dr. Brennan if the other woman had treated her as she had been treated over the last few years. She guessed that proved Nathaniel's point. Dr. Brennan was a good person. Certainly a better person than Patty, but Patty hoped she lived long enough to change that.

Leaving their current position, they double timed it to the clearing that was appointed as a meeting place and arrived with twenty minutes to spare. Which gave them plenty of time to get into position and set up their ambush. They had no doubt that Rodrigo would arrive with plenty of protection himself but they had enough men that even if he came with two helicopters of men, which was all that could reasonably land in the clearing, they could take them out quickly. Booth pitched a fit when Nathaniel wanted him to take up a sniper's position. No way was he moving any further away from his wife than he had to and nothing Nathaniel said budged him. With a sigh, Nathaniel finally told him to pick his spot. And Booth did so. Well hidden in the brush, he was less than fifteen feet from Brennan. He didn't like the fact that Patty and Brennan would be alone in the clearing when Rodrigo landed but knew the man would never land if he caught sight of anyone else and, unfortunately, they didn't have the firepower to take down a chopper. They needed the sonofabitch on the ground to take him out and he would NOT be walking away from this.

Luckily for them, they also had the latest technology available, so the ear pieces actually fit down into the ear and you could only see them if you were using an otoscope so they were able to all be in constant contact. At the appointed time, Patty made the call to Rodrigo. Her voice was a little nasally but she actually did a great job simulating excitement that she would be getting rid of Brennan permanently. Of course, it might have helped that she had several guns leveled at her at the time, one held by Brennan and Patty knew the other woman wouldn't hesitate to shoot her dead. Rodrigo relayed his eta of 20 minutes and everyone took their positions. They had decided that Brennan needed to appear to be bound to give the scene authenticity, so her hands were so loosely bound behind her back that she could easily slip out of them and quickly access the glock tucked into the small of her back. Patty had asked for a gun, but they had all vetoed that idea telling her she would just have to trust them to get her out of this alive. She didn't particularly care for that as most of the men were looking at her as if she didn't deserve to live but she didn't really have a choice.

As promised, twenty minutes later two choppers set down in the clearing and armed men streamed out of them, immediately heading into the underbrush and poking around. One came within five feet of Booth and he held his breath, knowing that if he was discovered, it would be a free for all and Brennan probably would be the first one they tried to take out. After several minutes of poking around, one of the men signaled Rodrigo and he climbed out of one of the choppers. Most of Rodrigo's men turned their weapons toward the jungle around them ready to protect their boss from any threat from that direction. Three turned their weapons on Patty and Brennan and it infuriated Booth to see a gun pointed toward his wife. He wanted to shoot them all instantly but knew he couldn't do that. So, he waited. He would get his chance.

Booth saw Brennan twist out of the bindings on her wrist very discreetly and pull the gun from her waistband as the man strolled toward them as if they were old friends and they should be glad to see him. _Good girl_, he praised inwardly. Sighting Rodrigo's forehead, Booth determined there was no way that freaking sicko was ever going to hurt his wife again. Nathaniel quietly ordered every man to pick a target and radio back the targets position so they could be sure every man was covered. In less than a minute, each of Rodrigo's men was within the sights of men who had come here specifically to take them out.

As Rodrigo got closer to the women, he tutted at Patty's battered face. "Oh, my dear, I see that you had some trouble with the good doctor," he sympathized, stroking her cheek. Patty barely repressed the shudder of revulsion as he touched her. Stiffening her spine, she gave him a look of accomplishment.

"She may have gotten in a few licks, but I got her here, didn't I?" she bragged with false bravado.

"Indeed you did, my dear, indeed you did," he praised, stroking her cheek again and turning his attention to Brennan. Walking toward her, he surveyed her from head to toe and Brennan didn't even try to hide her shudder of revulsion. Rodrigo smiled as every step he took toward her, she took one back. "Come now, Temperence. The game is truly won. You must see that. I would prefer that you come with me willingly but I'm not averse to using a little force. The choice is yours." He told her smilingly.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, you bastard." Brennan spat, pulling the gun from behind her back and pointing it at his chest. Luckily, Rodrigo was blocking his men's view of Brennan and they couldn't see the gun. Rodrigo laughed, infuriating Brennan.

"Come now, my dear," he cajoled, taking small steps closer to her as she continued to back up. Booth was guiding her by her earpiece and he would tell her when to stop to give him a clear shot. "Look around you, Temperence. If you shoot me, you will be dead in seconds," he told her waving his hands around to indicate his men spread about the clearing.

"If I go with you, I'm going to die anyway. I'd rather expire like this than at the hands of a twisted freak like you or Perez." Her voice held conviction and he gazed at her thoughtfully for several seconds.

"You know, my dear, I almost believe you but I have found that very few people choose to die when there is even the tiniest possibility that they can live. They will do anything that it takes to stay alive as long as possible. Now give me the gun, Temperence, and let us be on our way." His voice had grown hard and threatening.

Brennan had been instructed to drop to the ground at the signal to fire but she had something she had to take care of first. She saw the surprise in Rodrigo's as her shot hit him directly in the heart. She dropped to the ground just before three sniper rounds hit him simultaneously within a two inch pattern on his forehead and his head exploded. Gunfire erupted around the clearing and most of Rodrigo's men fell like dominoes, not even getting a shot off. Brennan and Patty covered their head and stayed put as they had been instructed. Brennan heard Patty scream and looked over to see the other woman had been hit by a stray bullet. Staying low, Brennan crawled over to check the damage. Suddenly the gunfire ceased and an unnatural silence descended on the clearing as Nathaniel and his men slowly made their way out of the jungle, checking each and every man to make sure he was dead. Booth immediately went to Brennan.

"Help me, Booth. I think she was hit," said Brennan trying to turn Patty over, but the other woman was curled in a fetal position moaning and resisting Brennan's attempts to help her. Going down on his knees beside Brennan, he forced Patty on her back, cringing when he saw she was bleeding from her abdomen. That was so not good. Looking at Brennan, he saw that she knew it, too.

"Grant, we need you," yelled Brennan, jerking off her over shirt, wadding it up and pressing it against the wound to slow the bleeding. She gave Patty a look of sympathy as the other woman moaned at the pressure being applied to her wound. "I know it hurts," Brennan said gently, "but we have to control the bleeding." Patty nodded but her eyes were glazed with pain.

Grant was there seconds later with his field kit. Gently removing Brennan's shirt and cutting Patty's shirt open to get a look at the wound, he silently swore to himself. _Dammit,_ a gut shot was one of the worst things that could happen in the field. Patty needed immediate surgery that he couldn't perform especially under these primitive conditions. Telling Brennan to continue to put pressure on the wound, he opened his kit and went to work.

"Hey, Patty, I'm going to give you something to make you feel better," he told her gently as he injected her with morphine and then quickly started an IV. He only had the standard IV fluids with him, no plasma expanders or blood to replace what she was quickly losing. Patty's eyes fluttered shut as the morphine started to take effect. By this time Nathaniel had made his way over and Grant stood pulling him a few feet away. There was such a look of regret in Nathaniel's eyes as he looked at the wounded Patty that Grant almost felt sorry for him but they didn't have time for that.

"How bad is it?" Nathaniel asked.

"Bad," answered Grant, "if we don't get her to a hospital soon, she's not going to make it."

"How soon?"

"A couple of hours." Nathaniel cursed and began to pace. He hated to lose anyone. And even though Patty had taken the wrong path somewhere along the way, she had come through for them in the end and didn't deserve to die like this. Looking around, Nathaniel spotted the choppers and had an idea. It would leave them short a couple of men but he had to do what he could to save General Hood's daughter. He had a great deal of respect for the man and knew it would break him to lose her.

"Check the choppers for fuel," Nathaniel yelled to a couple of the men who were just standing around.

"This one's full," yelled Joe a couple of minutes later. _Good_, thought Nathaniel. _That would be enough fuel to get them to the nearest city with a hospital that had the facilities to possibly save Patty's life but it would take at least an hour._

"Is anyone else a medic?" yelled Grant. He knew what Nathaniel was thinking and as much as it killed him not to see a patient through a crisis, they needed him when they went after Perez and he couldn't be sure he could make it back to camp in time. Two men stepped forward and Grant quickly quizzed them about experience and what they needed to do with Patty. Satisfied that they knew what they were doing, Grant nodded to Nathaniel.

"Joe, you're the best damn chopper pilot I know," Nathaniel said clapping Joe on the shoulder, "I trust you to get her to the hospital." As much as Joe wanted to stay and finish things with Perez, he knew an order when he heard one.

"What do we do when we get her to the hospital?" Joe asked.

"You drop her off and get the hell out of there. If you're absolutely sure you haven't been spotted then you call for pickup from the closest camp. If there's any doubt whatsoever that Perez's or Rodrigo's men have spotted you, then you head for home. You know what to do." Joe nodded but Nathaniel could tell he wasn't happy about the situation. "Joe, I'm asking you to do this because I know you'll get the job done." Nathaniel squeezed Joe's shoulder and the other man chest puffed out with pride. Hiding a smile, Nathaniel turned back to Patty as Joe hurried off to do a preflight check on the chopper.

Walking over, Nathaniel heard Grant giving orders to the two other medics and almost rolled his eyes. Grant was notorious for bossing people around. Squatting down beside the wounded woman, Nathaniel looked at her and felt sadness that she had been injured trying to make amends and help them but nothing else. _How could he? She had been the bane of his existence for the past three years but, at this moment, he didn't even feel anger over that. He just felt…nothing._

"We need to get her in the chopper," Grant told the other two medics.

"I'll do it," Nathaniel offered. Gently picking her up, he moved quickly toward the waiting chopper. Just as he was handing her to the waiting medics, her eyes flittered open and a soft smile lit her face.

"Did I do good?" she panted.

"Yeah, Patty you did good," Nathaniel offered softly.

"I love you, Nathaniel," she whispered as her eyes closed again. Handing her into the chopper, Nathaniel turned away, still feeling nothing for the woman who had just said she loved him and not sure what that said about him as a person. Quickly making his way around the clearing he made sure there were no other injuries and turned his attention back to Brennan and Booth.

Booth was sitting against the base of a large tree with Brennan held tightly in his arms softly stroking her hair as they talked quietly. Nathaniel knew that Booth was going to be pissed that he and Grant had also taken shots at Rodrigo. The other man had made it clear that it was his right to take out the bastard. But with the three shots, there was no way to tell who had killed him and therefore no one for the CIA to go after for taking out one of their valued assets. Ask any man here and they would have no choice but to say that Rodrigo was caught in the crossfire and it was impossible to tell who fired the kill shot.

Booth watched Nathaniel approach warily and almost smiled. He had been seriously pissed when the other two men had taken their shots, but it hadn't taken him long to understand they were trying to protect him. While it didn't give him the warm fuzzies inside, he did understand and was just grateful that no one else had been hurt. He was sorry that Patty had been injured and sent up a quick prayer for God to watch over her and keep her safe until they got her to a hospital. Although, she wasn't what he considered a good person, he didn't want her dead.

Suddenly, Brennan sat up in his lap and faced him squarely and Booth knew she had something on her mind. "Booth, I shot him right in the heart," she said softly, chewing her bottom lip, "and I don't feel bad about it, either." Her voice held confusion as if she couldn't resign the fact of taking a life and not feeling bad about it with the person she believed herself to be. "Does that make me a bad person?" she whispered, her big blue eyes begging for reassurance. Cupping her face in his hands, he drew her forward and kissed her tenderly.

"No, Baby, that doesn't make you a bad person. Hell, I shot him, too and I don't feel bad about it. I'd do it again if I had to. We didn't have a choice, Bones. Men like him can't be allowed to run amuck and do horrible things to people without any consequences." Looking deeply into her eyes, he saw the gratitude and that he had managed to reassure her that she wasn't becoming a bad person. Stealing another kiss, he finally released her with a smile and motioned for her to get up as it appeared they were ready to move out. Looking at the other chopper, Booth's eyes narrowed as he was struck with an idea. "Nathaniel," he called, "is there any chance that Gavin can find all the hidden transmitters on that chopper?"

Gavin stepped forward with an offended look on his face. "Of course, I can. Why?"

"Well," Booth drawled, "I was just thinking that we can't have too much air support when we go after Perez and it seems a waste to just blow it up." Nathaniel gave Gavin the go ahead nod and the young man went to work. Thirty minutes later, he had removed seven hidden transmitters and had been over the chopper with a fine tooth comb. He would bet his life he had found them all. He knew that he better be sure. It wasn't just his life he was betting it was all of them.

Nathaniel's trust in his team was absolute. If Gavin said it was safe for them to take the chopper, then it was safe. Quickly deciding that part of them would take the chopper back to camp and part of them would hoof it back, they piled into the chopper and took off. As they lifted off, Brennan looked down at the bodies strewn about the clearing and only felt gladness that men like this could never hurt anyone again. She looked at Rodrigo one last time before they were out of sight and thought that after the fear and torment the awful man had caused her and so many others, the ease with which they had taken him out had been almost anticlimactic. She could only hope it would be that easy with Perez, but she wasn't holding her breath.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello, people. I know it seems like it's been a while, but when Musie doesn't want to work on something you just can't make her. I was lucky today. Hope you like. I'm thinking I've lost my touch with the smut so let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan roused herself to climb off the chopper when they reached camp. Ducking under the still twirling rotors, she looked around for Booth, whom she had thought was right behind her and saw that he and Nathaniel were having a conversation off to the side. Deciding she didn't want to know what they were talking about, she started toward the sleep tent. Before she made it, Booth grabbed her by the arm and pulled her around the tent and back toward the jungle. She was exhausted, filthy and hungry and it would be dark soon, but she trusted her husband enough to follow him anywhere so why not back into the jungle? She wanted to ask questions, but he looked like an excited little boy so she held her silence. She saw why he was so excited a short time later as he led her into a clearing around a small waterfall and pool of clear, clean water. She, of course, had heard the waterfall long before they had gotten there but she wasn't about to dash his exuberance.

"Surprise," he sang out, spreading his arms as if he had created this spot just for her. Feeling her exhaustion melt away as if it had never been, Brennan threw herself into her husband's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, peppering his face with kisses. Booth laughed and twirled her around. "You missed a spot," he came to a standstill and pointed to his lips. Laughing, she gave him a smacking kiss on the lips then wiggled to let him know she wanted down. She couldn't wait get into that water and scrub the nightmare of the day from her body.

"How did you know about this place?" she asked as she pulled her personal care items from her backpack. You always carried everything you needed on your back in the jungle and, in Brennan's case, that was the full accompaniment of soap, shampoo, razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, towels, clean clothes and pretty much anything else you might need.

"Nathaniel told me where it was and that it was ours for the night if we wanted it." Brennan nodded but didn't pause in what she was doing. Booth had knelt and was pulling his stuff out of his pack but stopped and watched in awe as Brennan just kept pulling goodies out of her bag.

"Don't you think it would be selfish for us to not allow the others the opportunity to bathe?" Leaning over her shoulder, Booth poked a hand into her backpack to make sure that it actually did have a bottom and she smacked his hand. Withdrawing his hand with an injured air he wondered how the hell such a little woman carried around so much shit. Hell, he was surprised she could even lift the backpack with all that crap in it.

"Nathaniel said there's another pool a little further from camp the other way. Don't worry, your boys won't have to go to bed dirty." She shot him a narrow eyed look for that comment. Taking off her boots and placing them where they wouldn't get wet, she removed everything from her pockets and her belt, storing everything securely, grabbed her toiletries and headed for the waterfall, slowly unbuttoning her shirt, confident that her pouting husband would be right behind her. He maintained his injured air until Brennan started losing clothes then gave it up. He could always pout about her smacking his hand later.

Carefully laying her towel where it would remain dry, Brennan cautiously made her way behind the waterfall, checking that the ledge was wide enough to hold her and Booth for them to use it like a shower. Assured that it was safe she turned to watch Booth make his way toward her. With a smile, she held out her hand and when he took it, they stepped under the water together. She smiled when she heard Booth yell at the icy temperature of the water. She had forgotten to warn him that even though they were in the tropics, the constantly flowing water was very cold, but it felt heavenly to have it rushing over her body, cleansing the horrors of the day with ever speck of dirt and blood it removed from her form.

With as much soil as possible removed from her clothes without soap, Brennan stepped back behind the waterfall and finished unbuttoning her shirt, holding her husband's rapidly darkening eyes as she peeled it off and dropped in on the rocks behind her. Peeling his sodden shirt over his head, he dropped it on top of hers as he stalked toward her. The predatory look in his eyes made her shiver, but she felt no desire to run. Just the opposite, she was eager for him to catch her. He pushed her hands out of the way and removed her serviceable white, cotton bra himself as he backed her further into the cavern behind the waterfall. His hand tangled in her hair and tilted her head up to meet his descending lips and God, it seemed like forever since he'd had to freedom to kiss her like this. Like he wanted to devour her on the spot, which he most definitely did. Jerking her against his hard chest, he swallowed her moan and gave back one of his own, his hands going to the waistband of her pants. He wanted her naked immediately if not sooner. Her hands were working just as feverishly on his pants and he could only assume she wanted the same thing and he was good with that.

As soon as they had stepped into the clearing and Brennan had known she would have some uninterrupted alone time with her husband, she had been wet. It was damn frustrating not just being able to jump that gorgeous body when she got the urge which was constantly even when you were chasing the scum of the earth. She had been just about to the point of begging him to give her some relief earlier today but, sadly, taking out psychotic pedophiles had to take precedence over her sex drive but not tonight. Tonight, he was all hers and she intended to enjoy him fully.

Opening her mouth under his, she invited his tongue in to play just as her hand slipped into his open pants and she discovered that the dousing of the waterfall had done nothing to extinguish his desire. He was huge, hot and hard as her hand closed around him. Freeing his hard on from his clothes, she stroked him fast and hard and heard the rumbling growl of anticipation deep in his chest. The embers simmering in her belly burst into a conflagration as the growl burst into her mouth and he peeled her out of her pants and panties without breaking their kiss. She was slick and throbbing with the need for him to be inside her and knew that neither one of them was going to be able to take the first time slow or easy, but that was ok, they had all night. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she sucked his tongue into her mouth and rubbed herself against him invitingly, letting him know without words what she wanted.

Booth had been hard since they walked into the clearing. Hell, he'd been hard since they left camp, knowing where they were going. He wanted to take his time, make slow, passionate love to his wife, worship her body with his but he didn't think he was going to make it this first time. His wife was wrapped around him, her mouth eating at his as she used her lips, teeth and tongue to enflame him further and damn, she was good. Her skin should have been icy after being under the waterfall but it wasn't. It was hot, so hot that it felt like they were going to burst into flames everywhere they touched and that was everywhere. Her hands moved firmly over his body, one tweaking his nipples while the other moved down his abdomen to grasp his throbbing cock in that little hand. He was being bombarded with so many sensations at once that his gut was doing somersaults of desire and he couldn't think straight.

Brennan wasn't any better off. She felt like it had been years since she had made love with her husband and she was more than a little eager for the release only he could give her. She wanted it and she wanted it now. Without further ado, she fitted the tip of his penis to her opening and slowly enveloped him in her hot, tight sheath with a sigh of homecoming. Booth's breath hissed out between clenched teeth as she slid down his hard cock with excruciating slowness, but the action cleared his head. He was exactly where he had needed to be and, despite the almost overwhelming desire riding his body right now, he could definitely take it from here.

Placing his hands on her hips, he lifted her almost off of him and waited until she looked at him. Holding her eyes, he lowered her just as slowly as she had done. Her head fell back with a long moan as her eyes closed and her legs clenched around his waist, urging him on. He could feel the tension in her body and how tightly her inner muscles clutched at him as he increased his thrusts and knew she needed some relief quickly. He could do that. Pulling her torso against his chest, he took her mouth in a wet, open mouthed, tongue thrusting kiss as he lifted and lowered her to meet his upward thrusts, moving harder and faster as she began to pant and whimper under his avid mouth, her hands racing over his body. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she used her legs to help him lift and slam her back down on his hardness. Within minutes, she could feel her orgasm gathering and took his mouth passionately. She was determined to take him with her, tightening her inner muscles even more and sucking his tongue into her mouth as she came down on him harder and harder.

Booth was on fire. His intent had been to give his wife some relief then take a little more time with her before he gave in to his own desire, but she wasn't really giving him a choice as she tightened her internal muscles so much that it was almost a little difficult to push back inside her. Every drag of his hardness against that tightness sent little darts of fire and pleasure shooting from his cock out to every cell of his body. He could feel his thighs trembling and his testicles tightening and knew he wasn't going to last long. Just as the thought flitted through his mind, Brennan stiffened and gave a low, keening cry, her inner muscles tightening and releasing rhythmically as she came and moisture gushed over his penis and testicles. Letting himself go completely, Booth pounded into her hard and fast for the few thrusts it took to throw him over the edge and then he was joining her in that world of absolute pleasure, where none of the bad things they were facing existed. This world was only for them and the ecstasy they gave each other. Several minutes later, Booth found that his orgasm had literally brought him to his knees and he was kneeling on the floor of the cavern with Brennan's limp body cradled in his arms, her arms around his neck and her head resting on his shoulder.

"Hey, are you, ok?" he asked softly, brushing the hair back from her face.

"I am very ok," she answered, lifting a face glowing with satisfaction to his. He smiled and stroked her cheek softly. "We should finish our shower so that we can wash our clothes before it gets dark," she suggested, reluctant to move even though she knew she needed to.

Booth grinned as she crawled off his lap and winked at him over her shoulder before stepping back under the waterfall. Stepping back, she grabbed her soap and began to lather herself. Booth took over that job. Couldn't have her missing a spot, after all. By the time they were both lathered and rinsed, they were also both hot and bothered again, breathing hard, but when Booth reached for her, Brennan insisted they had to wash their dirty clothes so they could dry overnight. She showed him how to use soap and rub them against the rocks then let the power of the water behind the waterfall wash everything away.

Wrapped in the towels Brennan had provided, they carried their still dripping clothes back to where they had left their backpacks. Brennan spread the wet clothes out to dry on bushes while Booth checked out the pack that Alex had thrust into his hands just before they left camp. Man, he was going to owe Alex one, Booth thought as he pulled out three blankets, an assortment of MRE's, several bottles of water and a bottle of pretty damned good wine. He was curious about where Alex had gotten the wine in the middle of nowhere but he wasn't about to let it go to waste. They didn't have any glasses and the conditions they were in currently were primitive at best but they had each other and that was all that really mattered. Booth quickly spread out two of the blankets and laid out their dinner. When Brennan joined him, he made a sweeping gesture with his arm at the fare before them as if was the finest the world had to offer. With a giggle, Brennan seated herself primly on the blanket and waited for her husband to continue. He presented the wine and was a bit puzzled when she almost fell over laughing.

"Garrett is going to kill Alex for getting into his stash," she explained through her laughter at Booth's puzzled look. Booth's eyebrow lifted. Why in the world would one of the boys be carrying wine with him? Was he a boozer? Booth hadn't seen any signs of this being the case but if he was then they needed to know, they couldn't have someone who might be compromised watching their backs. Brennan could see the wheels turning in Booth's head and shook her own. "He doesn't drink it, Booth. He trades it." Seeing he didn't understand, Brennan had to think hard to explain the special talent the young man possessed. "Garrett can talk anyone out of practically anything given enough time. I think that he wears them down and they hand whatever it is he wants over so he'll just stop talking and go away, but..," Brennan looked up in surprise as he husband doubled over with laughter. She had been totally serious. "But," she continued, ignoring his odd reaction to her story, "we don't always have a lot of time so he always carries a stash of goodies to trade."

Booth straightened and wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. Yeah, he could see the talkative, oddly persuasive young man not giving up until he got what he wanted. Still grinning at his wife, he used the corkscrew also provided by Alex to pop the cork on the bottle of wine. Setting it aside to breathe, he handed Brennan a bottle of water and waved at the MRE's set out on the blanket. "For your dining pleasure, madame."

Brennan wasn't at all squeamish about eating the MRE's. They certainly weren't fine dining but you made do with what you had so she selected one and tore into it with a ferocity that told Booth she was starving. It didn't take them long to satisfy their hunger, but Booth was feeling a hunger of another kind by then. Brennan sat cross legged on the blanket, giving him glimpses of the haven between her thighs and her towel had loosened considerably where she had it tucked in around her breasts. It now hung on her pointed nipples. Never taking his eyes off his wife, Booth unerringly reached for the bottle of wine and handed it to her. She smiled at him seductively and his gut wound even tighter.

"Are you trying to get me drunk so you can get lucky, Booth?" she asked, fluttering lashes over huge blue eyes filled with innocence. Booth loved it when she flirted with him like this. It was just so out of character for her and he loved to see her step out of her comfort zone and have a little fun.

"Do I have to get you drunk to get lucky, Baby?" he asked softly, grasping an ankle in each hand and gently straightening out her legs. She shrugged.

"It couldn't hurt," she assured him taking a swig from the bottle. Taking the bottle from her hand, he safely set it between two rocks so it wouldn't spill and turned back to his wife. She was now reclining back on her arms, her chest thrust out and a sultry smile on her face. On all fours, he crawled up her body, his legs straddling hers until they were eye to eye.

"Oh, I don't think I need alcohol to get lucky with you, Bones," he had to grin when her eyes dared him to prove it and he set out to do just that. Spreading a big hand between her shoulder blades, he used his chest to push her gently down until she was flat on her back on the blanket. Before she could make a protest, he leaned down and nibbled at her bottom lip until her lips parted and allowed him entrance into her mouth. His tongue swept reverently into her mouth, slowly exploring every crevice and corner and showing her how much he adored her before slowly sliding against hers. Brennan did feel adored, she felt surrounded by the love of a good man and she felt so very lucky that they had found each other.

But she also felt hot. Booth looking at her as they had eaten, his eyes getting darker and darker as she had allowed her towel to slip had her belly knotted in desire. The way he was kissing her right now made her want to cry but it also made her want to show him how he made her feel when they were together like this and there was nothing gentle about the feelings he roused in her body when he started kissing and stroking her. Those feelings were all about heat and a want that was so deep it was elemental, almost primal and she felt it only for him. Wrapping her arms around Booth's neck, Brennan tangled her tongue with his and wiggled until her towel fell free, rubbing her pebbled nipples against the hard muscles of his chest, smiling as he groaned into her mouth. Booth tried to keep the kisses soft and slow but his wife made that impossible with the way her hands were wandering his body, stroking and teasing all those secret spots only a lover would know. But he was determined to do this his way so time for plan B. Brennan felt herself being lifted and turned onto her stomach before she could blink.

"No fair," she whined when she realized that he had taken away her access to his body and she knew what he had in mind. He rarely got like this but when he did he was determined. Pulling away and discarding both towels, he settled himself atop her thighs and leaned forward, his prominent erection rubbing across the perfect globes of her ass, hissing as she deliberately pushed back against him. Biting down on her shoulder, he grinned as she shuddered and pushed against his erection rhythmically, unable to resist meeting every push with a forward thrust. Kissing his way across her shoulder, he nudged her hair aside and nipped at her neck until he reached her earlobe.

"We're doing this one my way, Baby," he decreed, smiling at the disgruntled expression on the face she turned toward him.

"Fine, but I don't like it," she snapped back before she realized what she said but Booth wasn't upset at her words, he was amused.

"Oh, really?" he challenged with a raised brow, his hand finding its way between her thighs to find her hot and wet. "I beg to differ on that one, Baby. You know you like it, so just lay back and enjoy." He was right, she did like it but she was always out of her mind when he finished playing with her and finally gave her what she wanted. Still, there wasn't really anything she could do about it at the moment so she lay back down and just felt as his hands and mouth moved over every centimeter of her back from her neck to the bottom of her feet although relaxing was the last thing she would consider it.

Booth loved every perfect inch of his wife's body. Just looking at her turned him on but he reveled in the freedom of touching, stroking and kissing every inch of her, making her absolutely insane with need before finally giving in and taking them both to paradise. He took his time stroking and kissing his way down the long line of her back to the full swell of her perfect ass and spent quite some time molding those firm globes with his hands. Pushing her thighs apart and settling himself between them, his aching hard on skimming the lips of her dripping sex, he shuddered and fought the urge to bury himself inside her snug center especially when she whimpered and pushed back against him.

"Please, Booth," she whispered, her ass arching under his hands, shuddering as her sex skimmed his hard on, "we can play later," she bargained, throwing a look over her shoulder that she knew he couldn't resist. He knew how much she liked it like this and could hear that little catch in her voice that told him how excited she was. He was hotter than hell, too and he very much liked it this way. Hell, he was a guy, he'd have to turn in his guy card if he didn't but he had a lot more in store for his wife before he gave in, but while he was debating, she swirled her hips and he slipped just a few inches inside of her and the decision was made.

Leaning forward and bracing on his extended arms, he pushed his hard on inside his wife's snug channel and paused, panting and fighting the urge to just let the caveman inside him take over. Brennan whimpered and pushed back, settling him even deeper and his head dropped to her shoulder. Turning her head, she caught his mouth with hers and lips, teeth and tongues tangled. "Give me what I want, Booth," she urged, her voice quivering with excitement and tightening her inner muscles and pushing up at the same time. Booth was lost. Slipping one hand under her abdomen and angling her hips slightly, he gave her exactly what she wanted. A hard, fast ride that had her clenching then exploding around him minutes later. Sitting up, Booth flipped her onto her back, he wasn't quite finished with her yet. He wasn't quite out of control yet but he was close.

Pushing her thighs apart he pushed back into her hot depths a little more roughly than he had intended but he could tell she liked it by the way her back arched and she gasped. She was still riding out her orgasm and the clenching and unclenching of her inner walls just made him harder and hotter. Pulling one of her legs up over a shoulder, Booth set up a hard, pounding rhythm that didn't even let her come down from her first orgasm, it just drove her higher and higher and he wanted to see her face when she came this time. It didn't take long, his hard strokes dragging against sensitive tissue had her arching in his arms, crying out his name minutes later as she was shattered by another orgasm that left her limp and sated. Booth was happy to follow her over the edge, his body was taut with so much tension and desire that he badly needed the release he found, the pleasure of his orgasm that which only one woman ever had and ever could give him. Collapsing beside her, breathing heavily, he pulled her into his arms and pulled the other blanket over them. Minutes later they were both asleep.

Brennan awoke the next morning a little stiff and sore but very, very happy. They had turned to each other over and over throughout the seemingly short night, exploring each other's bodies with hands and lips, sometimes making love and sometimes having hot, sweaty sex whichever suited them at the time. Booth had finally gotten to have his little torture session and Brennan had returned the favor. Last night had been totally for and about them but it was morning and time to return to the real world. They had overslept slightly so they quickly made use of nature's version of the shower and dressed, double timing in back to camp. They were surprised to walk into what they expected to be a sleepy little camp to find it bustling with activity.

"What's going on?" Brennan asked Nathaniel as he hurried toward them with a relieved look on his face.

"Not sure, but Perez is on the move. It looks like he's got intel sources we don't know about, but he's headed straight toward us so it looks like our little showdown is going to be a day early." Tossing Booth his sniper rifle, Nathaniel continued crisply, "lock and load, Ranger, its all hands on deck while we pray that the other camps make it here before Perez does." Brennan looked between the two men in horror. Their whole plan depended on them having the element of surprise. They needed to lure Perez and his men out into the open. They had a pretty extensive air support team ready but it would prove virtually useless in the jungle. So, all that left them with was 16 men and some, admittedly, pretty impressive firepower if Perez got to them before reinforcements. But Perez was sure to have some impressive firepower and she knew he would have a hell of a lot more than 16 men with him. _Oh, God, the monster was coming for her and he might just win, dragging her straight back to hell._

_Stop it!,_ Brennan told herself firmly. She wasn't going anywhere. Booth, Nathaniel and the others wouldn't let Perez get within touching distance of her. _But how many of them would die to keep that from happening now that they didn't have the element of surprise? Would she have to watch that monster take away still more people that she loved?_ Logically, she knew that with their numbers they couldn't hold out against a superior force for very long, they didn't even have the advantage of high ground. That led her to believe that their best option would be to buy some time until the rest of their forces could arrive and she thought she had a way to do that without anyone she loved losing their lives in the process, she just didn't see how she was going to talk the two men beside her into it.


	27. Chapter 27

**This one is a little short but I think you'll forgive me. Please keep the reviews coming. Real life has intruded into my answering review time but I will get to each and every one. Thanks. T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

"I want her safe," Booth told Nathaniel, his voice booking no opposition. Not that Nathaniel would have given him any. That had also been his first thought and since the chopper was virtually useless to them as a weapon, he would have Alex fly Brennan out of here and get her to safety. They could use the chopper later to transport survivors to the hospital but, unless their backup got here a hell of a lot faster than Nathaniel thought they could, he really didn't expect there to be very many survivors. They were going to be pinned in, outmanned and outgunned. They wouldn't have a chance. _Damn, that's the way he always liked it_.

"I'm not running away," Brennan stated flatly, steel running through her voice.

"Yes, you are," snapped Booth and Nathaniel at the same time.

"No, I'm not," she snapped right back, looking her husband in the eye with more resolve than he'd ever seen in her eyes and he knew the only way they would be getting her out of her would be to carry her kicking and screaming and it might just come down to that because he would not have her here for what was coming. "Booth, this is much more my fight that it is yours. I will not just run away and leave people that I love here to die. You can't ask that of me." _The hell he couldn't._ He would not only ask, he would demand it of her and nothing she said was going to change his mind. Before he could let her know just how wrong she was, she left him speechless. "I won't run away, Booth, but I will leave camp." Her eyes bored into his and he caught on to what she was suggesting just a split second before Nathaniel.

"Hell, no! No way, Bones! You are not being bait to lead that psycho away from here. You are going to get your ass on that chopper and get the hell out of here and let me and your boys handle this freak." Booth couldn't help the volume of his voice as fury washed over him at her willingness to put herself in the crosshairs. He understood why but damn, he didn't have to like it.

"And how long do you think you and my boys are going to last against this man and his army, Booth? Because, I can tell you it's not pretty what he does to people. So your solution is that I run away and hide and i get to live with those pictures in my head the rest of my life? The rest of my life that you're absent from, Booth? I get to live with the knowledge that the person that I love most in the world died today but I could have stopped it and I didn't even try? Is that what you want the rest of my life to be like, Booth? Because I have to tell you, NO WAY IN HELL IS THAT GOING TO HAPPEN!" She was yelling directly into his face at the end, absolutely livid that he wasn't even willing to listen to her plan. She knew it would work, but no, he had to be her big strong protector. But she had news for all of them, if they didn't go along with her plan, it was going to take a hell of a lot more than sixteen men to put her on that chopper bound for safety. This was her fight and she was NOT walking away from it.

Booth clamped down on his own anger when he saw how furious his wife was. She wasn't just angry, she meant every word. There was no way he was going to be able to talk her into just getting on that chopper and they really didn't have a lot of time to chat about things right now. There was no way he could be okay with putting her in danger like she was suggesting, no matter the ultimate cost. She couldn't ask that of him. Booth's eyes begged Brennan to understand his position, but before they could come to an understanding, Nathaniel broke in.

"It's not a bad idea, Booth. It would definitely buy us enough time to meet up with reinforcements." Nathaniel said thoughtfully and Booth rounded on the younger man, his fury at the suggestion almost blinding him.

"Nathaniel, I know you did not just suggest that we send my wife out in the jungle as a decoy to save our own hide," he snapped.

"Of course not, but they won't know she's not with the team that we send out unless they catch them, Booth." Nathaniel explained as if Booth weren't very bright, stinging from Booth's suggestion that he would sacrifice Brennan in any circumstances. Ignoring the attitude, Booth paused and considered it. It was a good idea. Perez would be expecting them to try to get her away from the action. They could make sure that he heard some vital radio communications and if he was as obsessed as they thought, he would head after that team. It would put that team in a great deal of danger and leave them men short, but, hell it wasn't as if five or six men were going to make a difference if Perez didn't fall for it and continued toward their camp.

"If we do that, Bones, will you let Alex take you out of here without argument?"Booth looked around to see his wife had moved several feet away and stood speaking rapidly to Alex who was nodding and answering just as rapidly. Brennan was clutching his forearm and they suddenly stopped speaking and looked around as they noticed they were being watched. _Dammit, if she had managed to talk the other man out of flying her out of here, Booth was going to lose it._ They had a couple of other pilots in camp but none that he would trust to protect his wife like he trusted Alex. Stalking over to the coconspirators, he planted his hands on his hips and glared at both of them. "We'll send out a team and let Perez know that you're with them. Now, will you let Alex take you out of here without argument?" To Booth's surprise, his wife looked to Alex and received a small nod before she answered him.

"If our subterfuge is unsuccessful and Perez continues toward this camp, then yes, Booth, I will let Alex fly me out of here without argument." She met his eyes squarely and Booth saw only honesty there but something bothered him about how easily she had given in. Before he could pinpoint what was bothering him, Nathaniel approached.

"Ok, we have a team ready to head out." It had been tough for Nathaniel to choose the men for this mission as he felt he was almost certainly sending them to their deaths, so he had asked for volunteers and, to his pride, every single man in camp had volunteered save Booth and Alex as they were occupied elsewhere. Brennan looked at the five men who stepped forward, her heart almost breaking when she saw Garrett was among them. She wanted to fall to the ground, sobbing that she couldn't lose anyone else, but she didn't. She shook every man's hand and thanked them for their service to their country. When she came to Garrett and looked into those impish eyes and that carefree smile, she almost lost it, pulling him to her, trying to convey how much he meant to her in the way she held him while tears ran down her cheeks. He hugged her back just as fiercely. And then they were gone, more human sacrifices sent to save her from the monster. Booth pulled her into his arms just as she began to sob, holding her tight and burying his face in her hair, whispering nonsense words of comfort.

Fifteen minutes later, Nathaniel walked over to where Booth sat against a tree with Brennan cradled protectively in his lap. They had spent the time just holding each other, each desperately wanting to reassure the other that everything was going to be fine but knew that neither would believe it so they didn't waste their breath. Nathaniel didn't have to say a word. Both of them could tell from the look on his face that Perez was still headed straight for them. "Are you sure?" asked Brennan softly.

"I'm sure, Red," Nathaniel smiled sadly at her, knowing this might be the last conversation they ever had. "We have continuous satellite feed and his course hasn't altered. It's time for you to get out of here," he urged, not willing to risk Perez getting any closer with her in camp.

"How the hell do they know exactly where we are, Nathaniel?" Booth demanded suddenly, looking like he had just had an epiphany. "These weren't the coordinates he was supposed to be given so even if your person spilled the beans early, he wouldn't know about this place." Nathaniel nodded thoughtfully and Booth continued. "And how could they know for sure that Bones wasn't with the team we sent out?" Booth's and Nathaniel's eyes met and held and Booth didn't see the surprise he expected telling him Nathaniel had already known what he now knew with utter certainty.

"There's only one way they could know for sure," Nathaniel said softly, "they have someone other than Patty in this camp."

"I know what that means," Brennan looked between Booth and Nathaniel, "but I don't know if that improves our situation or not." Booth grabbed her face between both palms and gave her a smacking kiss on the lips.

"Baby, you are brilliant," he praised. Yes, Brennan had already known that but she hadn't a clue what she had said that so excited her husband. She looked at Nathaniel for answers to find him beaming at her as well.

"What? I don't understand. I would think we would have to worry about our weapons and equipment being compromised with a spy in our midst," since they weren't giving her any input, she was trying to reason out why they were excited that yet someone else was betraying them.

"The weapons are all secure, verified as ready to go and have been under guard since last night along with the helicopter." Nathaniel assured them.

"You knew," Booth accused.

"I suspected," Nathaniel countered.

"Do you know who it is?" demanded Booth, his excitement rising. Nathaniel crossed his arms over his chest.

"I've narrowed it down to two people."

"Dammit, Nathaniel, this is the stuff I told you I needed to know. Why the hell would you keep something like this from us?" Booth motioned between him and Brennan. "Don't you trust us?" Brennan snorted at Booth's little meltdown, not for an instant doubting Nathaniel's loyalty to her and whoever she chose to give her trust to.

"If I didn't trust you, Booth, you wouldn't be here," Nathaniel's voice held steel and Booth believed him. "This only came to light last night when Alex and I inspected the weapons and found some of them had been tinkered with. As I recall, you were otherwise occupied last night and you just got back so how the hell do you suggest I could have shared?" There was more amusement than anything in Nathaniel's eyes as Booth and Brennan both blushed, remembering exactly what they had been doing last night.

"Booth," finally losing patience, Brennan grabbed her husband's arm and shook it, hard. "I don't understand why it makes you happy that someone in this camp is betraying us."Booth's face softened and he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Because if Perez is using them to get accurate info, we can use them to send him false intel." Brennan knew what the words meant but she really didn't see how that improved their situation dramatically. They still had God only knows how many hostile soldiers descending on their position and they had a better chance to stand and fight rather than run and scatter their puny forces but satellite recon showed that unless their other camps grew wings… Wait, the helicopters. "Nathaniel," Brennan grasped his forearm excitedly, "since we can't use the helicopters for air support, why can't we use them to shuttle the other soldiers here? It would be much faster than ground travel."

"Already being done," Nathaniel smiled at her proudly. She made on hell of a soldier. "We have two birds inbound in the next thirty minutes that will double our numbers."

"Baby, it's time for you to go," Booth broke into their conversation.

"What? Why do I still have to go?" she asked, thoroughly confused. She felt as if Booth and Nathaniel were working in tandem to spin her in circles, to keep her confused. Even though she loved each man and trusted them both implicitly they were confusing the hell out of her and she couldn't help but feel like it was deliberate. Something just didn't feel right.

"Because it's still dangerous for you to be here, Baby. I just want you to be safe." Booth was practically dragging her to the chopper with Nathaniel hot on their heels. Gavin ran up and put a hand on her arm, stopping Booth's forward momentum. He pulled Brennan into a tight, loving embrace that scared the crap out of her. Especially when the quiet twin who rarely revealed what he was thinking or feeling whispered, "I love you, Red. Live long and be happy" in her ear before releasing her and striding away. It felt like he was saying goodbye, like he was certain they would never see each other again. Brennan looked at Booth with full blown panic in her eyes.

"No, Booth, I'm not leaving. I can help. I can be a decoy. Perez will follow me, I know he will. You have to let me help." Gripping both of her shoulders, he met her eyes.

"We've already tried that, Baby, and he didn't fall for it. You promised that you'd let Alex take you to safety, Bones. I've never known you to break a promise. And I, we," Booth motioned between himself and Nathaniel, "need you to be safe so we can concentrate on the bad guys. You have to go, Baby." She knew she wasn't going to be able to talk him out of it but it was breaking her heart. Wrapping her arms tightly around her the center of her universe she just held on for dear life. Pulling back, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him and that one kiss held everything that he was to her, it held the memories from their past together and all her hopes for the future they would build when they left this awful place. He returned the kiss with just as much passion and longing, trying to convey that she was his everything in that one kiss. Finally breaking apart, he rested his forehead against hers. "I love you, Mrs. Seeley Booth."

"I love you, too, Mr. Seeley Booth." She whispered back. As much as she wanted to, she wouldn't beg him to let her stay. She knew what she had to do. With one last, long look, Booth released her and she turned to Nathaniel, who grabbed her in a bear hug that made her laugh, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. Booth felt no jealousy whatsoever, he was just grateful the other man could give her a moment of laughter at a time like this. Nathaniel finally set her down and she kissed his cheek softly. Intertwining their fingers, Booth led Brennan to the chopper where Alex was waiting. Nathaniel pulled Alex aside and spoke to him softly. Alex nodded but his and Brennan's eyes were oddly intent on each other then Alex gave her an almost imperceptible nod and she turned her attention back to Booth.

"Hey, I'm jealous if you've learned to talk to someone else with your eyes," Booth told her jokingly and for just a second she looked almost guilty then she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss that curled his toes in his shoes.

"There are a lot more of those waiting on you when this is over, so you do not get yourself shot or blown up, do you hear me, Seeley Booth?" she commanded and he had to grin at how natural commanding him was to her. She had trained him well over the years. He saluted smartly.

"Yes, maam. Don't get shot or blown up. Got it." He grinned at her but her face remained serious even as he helped her into the chopper.

"Or injured in any other way," she threw in there and he gave her another salute. He knew delaying tactics when he saw them and Parker had taught her well.

"You have to go now, Baby. I love you."

"Never forget that I love you, Booth." Giving her one last kiss on the lips, he pressed a kiss into the palm of her right hand and curled her fingers over it, stepping back and closing the door. If he didn't do it now, he'd never be able to let her go and he needed her to go, to leave this place and be safe. Turning to Alex, he held out his hand.

"Protect her with your life, Alex. I'm trusting you to keep the most precious thing in my life safe." Alex shook his hand but Booth couldn't get a read on the look the other man gave him.

"I'll always protect her with my life, Booth. It's what we do for the people we love." With that, the other man climbed into the chopper and started the rotors turning. Booth and Nathaniel stepped back to a safe distance.

"So, do you think she bought it?" Nathaniel asked. Booth crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes never leaving the light of his life.

"She wouldn't be in the chopper if she hadn't." Booth assured him and Nathaniel shrugged his doubts aside.

"Do we have an accurate count of how many men Perez has with him?" Booth asked.

"The most accurate count we have is at least 100." Booth felt a new respect for the soldier standing beside him. From his voice you would never guess he was speaking of their imminent extermination.

"Any chance reinforcements will actually get here before he does?" Booth just wanted all the facts then he would deal with the reality of the situation.

"Not a chance in hell," Nathaniel said softly as the chopper started to lift off. One of the soldiers ran over gesturing wildly and Booth and Nathaniel walked over to find out what the hell was wrong now. It wasn't like things weren't just about as bad as they could get already. They quickly discovered that things could always get worse.

"Nathaniel, you're broadcasting to the whole camp." Nathaniel grabbed his radio and saw the talk button was depressed. Not many people knew you could get it to stick in this position if you jiggled it just right and one of the ones he had taught that little trick to had just climbed on the chopper that was beginning to rise over the small clearing. Fear clutched his heart.

"Booth where's your radio?" Nathaniel demanded, releasing his from the talk position. Booth patted his waist and back pocket but he couldn't locate his radio. It must have fallen off somewhere. He didn't see what Nathaniel was panicking about until Nathaniel's radio crackled to life.

"Booth, we are going to have a talk about you lying to me when we get home," came Brennan's furious voice. Snatching Nathaniel's radio right out of his hands, Booth hit the talk button.

"I didn't lie to you, Baby. You're not safe here."

"Neither are you, but you will be. I love you, Booth and for the record, I never promised to let Alex to take me to safety, I promised to let him take me out of here and I'm doing that. I didn't lie to you, Booth." Booth felt fear unlike any he'd ever known settle over him.

"What are you doing, Bones?" he wanted to yell but his voice barely came out in a whisper.

"What I have to, Booth," her voice held the utter conviction of her words.

"No," whispered Booth. "No!" shouted Booth into the radio as he knew exactly what she was going to do. "Get back down her right this minute, Temperence Brennan Booth. Now!!" Booth knew he was losing it but she wasn't answering him. Nathaniel had snatched the radio from the other soldier.

"Alex, what the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

"I'm watching Red's back," Alex answered calmly as the chopper continued to gain altitude.

"Get your ass back on the ground immediately, soldier," Nathaniel roared in his best commander voice. He looked up to see a grinning Alex give him a sharp salute.

"Sorry, Boss. No can do. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. You can court martial me later."

"Alex, set that god damn chopper back down right now. You promised to protect her. You can't let her do this." Booth bellowed, hoping to talk some sense into the pilot. He already knew his wife was set on her course and he wouldn't be talking her out of it.

"I'm sorry you see it that way, Booth. But I can't not let her do this and I will protect her with the last breath in my body. Over and out." Despite numerous attempts at radio contact, they got no response from the chopper as it hovered over the clearing and then turned to vector in the opposite direction from safety.

"Son of a bitch," yelled Booth, grabbing a fistful of Nathaniel's shirt, "I'm going to kill him when I get my hands on him," he ranted, enraged as he realized the direction Alex had headed the chopper in was a direct intercept course for Perez. And there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it.

"You're going to have to stand in line to kick Alex's ass," Nathaniel told Booth, peeling Booth's hands away from his shirt. "I don't know what the hell he could be thinking but he would never turn her over to Perez and they would never go into something like this without some kind of plan. We just have to figure out what it is." Booth began to calm. Nathaniel was right, they had to figure out what the two had planned and what they could do to help or to rescue the two idiots before they got themselves killed. Brennan was right, they were going to have a very freaking long talk when they got home and it certainly wasn't going to be about his behavior. Thank God, her boys had had the good sense to tag her when she was, no doubt, running them ragged and they could track her. Booth almost had himself back under control when his radio crackled to life. Oh, thank God, he thought, his knees almost buckling in relief, she had come to her senses and was letting them know that Alex was taking her to safety. He had never been more wrong in his life. His heart almost stopped as he heard his wife's words.

"Perez, this is Temperence Brennan Booth. I know you can verify who I am and that I am on a helicopter at these coordinates," Booth and Nathaniel looked at each other in disbelief as she gave her position to a freaking psycho. "I just have one thing to say to you. Catch me if you can, you sick son of a bitch."


	28. Chapter 28

**This one is a little shorter than usual but it should make you all feel better. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming. Pretty please with a chocolate Booth on top.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

In the helicopter, Brennan and Alex were silent as they listened to the conversation between Booth and Nathaniel. When Brennan had approached him earlier and just spouted out her plan, Alex had been appalled that she wanted to put herself in danger like that and flatly refused to have anything to do with it and then she had pulled out the big guns. She had asked him how he would be able to look at himself in the mirror every day and know that he and she had run away to safety if Booth, Grant, Nathaniel, Gavin and Garrett, not to mention all the other soldiers who had volunteered to come here and help them take out a killer, were killed today. The answer was simple. He wouldn't be able to look in the mirror. Hell, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Nathaniel, Gavin, Garrett and even Grant weren't related to him by blood but they were his brothers all the same. He had even developed a fondness and respect for Booth and he knew it would destroy the woman in front of him to lose that man. He tried to tell her it was too dangerous, that it would destroy Booth if something happened to her and she told him that was just supposition that they might fail, but it was a fact that men they both cared about were going to start dying soon if they didn't do something and Alex couldn't fault her logic. She had quickly outlined her plan and Alex was impressed.

It was brilliantly simple and he thought it stood an excellent chance of success so he told her that he would take her to safety then enact the plan on his own and she had gone ballistic. Just to calm her down he had told her he would think about it and he had. And he had come to the conclusion that she needed to do this. Right now it was all about saving the lives of the people she cared about in camp but deep down, Alex knew she needed to do this to free herself from the evil that had touched her and invaded part of her soul when Perez had her. Hopefully killing that evil son of a bitch would purge that evil and help her come to grips with her past. He also knew that she thought quickly on her feet and the two of them together stood a much higher chance of success that he did alone so here he sat about to do something that could get him shot by an irate husband who just happened to be a sniper and could most definitely get him court martialed but that was only if they managed to evade over 100 armed men and survive. _Piece of cake_.

Brennan listened intently on the radio she had lifted from Booth's waistband as he and Nathaniel calmly discussed what could only be a coming massacre. Her head came back with a gasp as she realized that the two men had deliberately misled her and they were cooperating with each other. Well, she would have something to say to each of them after she and Alex pulled their asses out of the fire and it wouldn't be thank you to lying to me. She refused to acknowledge she had just basically done the same thing getting on the chopper with Booth thinking she was running away to safety. She couldn't hold back the snort on that one. _Like that would ever happen_.

Alex looked over and had to laugh at Brennan's disgruntled expression when she realized that Booth and Nathaniel had misled her. Alex had walked up on that conversation between the two men and told them not to do it, that she would be pissed but they hadn't listened. He saw the satisfaction when the men realized that she had jimmied Nathaniel's radio and stolen Booth's without either man realizing. _Hell, yeah, Red had skills_. He saw the tears in her eyes as she told Booth she hadn't lied to him and the tears streaking down her face when he was yelling for her to come back and she broke contact, sobbing. Looking over, Alex held out his hand, palm up.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Red?" he asked quietly. Raising tear drenched eyes to his, she nodded firmly then listened as Nathaniel ordered Alex to set the chopper down and he disobeyed a direct order. _God, what if Nathaniel really did court martial him when this was over?_ She didn't think he would but she had never heard him that pissed before and she couldn't be sure and if he did, she would be responsible for ruining Alex's career. She hadn't really considered that, she had just known Alex was her most likely ally and she had, admittedly, taken advantage of that.

"Are you sure, Alex?" She looked like she felt guilty, like she had dragged him into this kicking and screaming. Looking her straight in the eye, he gave her a carefree grin and the truth.

"I'm sure, Red," then he tried to lay her guilt to rest, "I'm doing this because it needs to be done to keep people we both love from dying and to make sure that bastard pays for my brother. I'm doing it because I know you, Red, and if I don't help you, you'll try to do it on your own and I can't let you go out there without anyone to watch your back. That's been my job for a long time and I'm not about to desert you now. But mostly, I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do and I choose to do it. Now, are you ready to do this?" he wiggled the fingers of the hand he had extended earlier. Searching his eyes, she placed her hand in his and nodded, both silently wondering if this would be the last time they would ever see the people they were doing this to protect.

As they lifted off, Brennan avoided looking toward the ground. She was afraid if she caught sight of Booth's face, she wouldn't be able to go through with this, their only chance of saving the lives of all the men on the ground. Surreptitiously wiping the tears from her face, she picked up the other, long range radio that Alex had liberated for them and took several deep breaths before depressing the talk button.

"Perez, this is Temperence Brennan Booth. I know you can verify who I am and that I am on a helicopter at these coordinates. I just have one thing to say to you. Catch me if you can, you sick son of a bitch." Alex looked at his companion in disbelief. Yes, they had discussed that she should say something to catch the freaks attention, but she had just basically challenged a freaking psycho to a fight to the death in front of his men. _Damn, she was good_. There was no way Perez could ignore her challenge, his pride wouldn't allow it.

"Was it really necessary to taunt the serial killer, Red?" he teased and Brennan's heart ached as she heard Booth speaking almost the same words in her living room while they both held guns on Howard Epps.

"Yes, Alex, I think it was very necessary to taunt him. Logic dictates that at least some portion of his men heard the challenge and Perez, being the type of man he is as well as being raised in a male dominated society will see it as a slight to his masculinity as well as his authority. He will be furious and feel as if he has no choice but to come after me which will give us a small advantage and significantly increases the probability that the majority of his troops will be diverted from our camp," she told him calmly and he was suddenly glad she was on their side. She would be a formidable opponent in the wrong hands. Reaching out and clasping her hand, Alex gave it a tight squeeze.

"It's going to be ok, Red," he promised but could see by her look that she didn't believe him. "Hey, would I lie to you?" he demanded, glad to see her grin at the question. Alex happened to be the most proficient liar on the team and she had seen him convincingly lie to others countless times. This was the question he would always ask her when she expressed disbelief in some of his taller tales. But, as far as she knew, he had never lied to her.

"No, Alex, you wouldn't lie to me," she gave her standard answer in what had become a game between them.

"There you go then. If I wouldn't lie to you, then it has to be true. Everything will be ok." She smiled at him, turning away before he could see that she still had her doubts about that statement, but she loved him for trying to make her believe it. "Ok, I got everything you asked for but you should check it before we get any closer to Perez's troops," he suggested minutes later. Nodding, Brennan climbed between the seats and starting digging through the two backpacks Alex had secretly stashed while she was talking to Booth and Nathaniel. Using a mental checklist, she saw everything she had asked for and a few things she hadn't. Her eyes widened when she saw the amount of explosives Alex had provided.

"Alex, are you sure you didn't leave Grant short on explosives?" she queried worriedly.

"Oh, please, Red, you know fish boy always travels with enough explosives to blow up a freaking country," he snorted, rolling his eyes. She couldn't help the smile that turned into giggles. Grant was a little anal about having enough explosives and always carried about three times as many as he ever used but he was going to be royally pissed that someone had touched his precious C4.

"He is so going to kick your ass, Alex," Brennan couldn't stop the giggles that were turning into deep, rolling laughter that had tears streaking her cheeks. She knew it was just a reaction to the tension she had been under recently but it felt wonderful to release that tension so she didn't even try to stop it.

Alex looked back at her and started laughing himself. This was the Red he was used to seeing on their missions. He knew the world saw her as an uptight, brainiac scientist and there was no denying she was brilliant, but, on their missions, it was as if she became someone else, someone who could more easily relate to the general population. After the first couple of missions, she had learned how to blend in and her vocabulary diminished significantly as she mimicked the words and speech patterns of those around her. Steven had taught her that you had to keep from drawing attention to yourself and your team or your chances of going home alive weren't good and she had taken the lesson seriously, setting out to learn everything she could from her fellow team members. She had learned to look you in the eye and lie as well as Alex himself who had taught her that one. She had learned how to shoot and handle weapons from Nathaniel. Garrett had taught her how to lift anything she wanted from your person without you ever suspecting and Gavin had taught her how to operate his fancy communications equipment. Grant had taught her everything he knew about explosives. In fact, if you got technical, she was the very best of each of them, all rolled up into a beautiful package. Shaking himself out of his reverie, Alex responded to her comment.

"He can try, but I have a feeling he's going to have to get in line." Finally bringing herself under control, Brennan climbed back into her seat and looked at him questioningly.

"What do you mean?" No way was he going there. Alex had no doubt that Nathaniel and Booth would both be out for his blood if they survived this little excursion and he deserved it, but he wasn't about to give Brennan something else to worry about. She had enough of a full plate right now. Luckily for him, it was time to get down to business.

"Ok, we're now within range of Perez's radar," Alex informed her. "There's still time to stop this," he offered. She shook her head adamantly, just as he had known she would. "Then let's get this show on the road. Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is alpha November niner one three. We are experiencing engine problems and will have to land soon. We have also lost navigation and our last known coordinates were…," Brennan calmly watched Alex as he repeated the message three times broadcasting on all channels as was appropriate then smiled as he finished. It was done and they just had to pray that Perez bought it. The man certainly wouldn't be invited to join MENSA anytime soon. He was an unintelligent brute who had moved to his current position with brutality and Rodrigo's help. Rodrigo had been the brains of the operation, so chances were good Perez would believe exactly what they wanted him to. Even if any of his men were smart enough to figure out this was a wild goose chase, it was unlikely they would say anything. Perez was just as likely to kill one of his own men as a prisoner and they knew it.

The plan she had come up with depended on Perez thinking he could actually get his hands on her and she and Alex had determined that they would have to get a lot closer to him for him to believe that, especially when they were in a chopper. So, they had headed in his direction and gotten close enough for him to pick them up on radar but not close enough for him to shoot them down with any weapons at his disposal. The mayday signal was simply a tease. They weren't really having engine trouble but they had slowed their speed and Alex had turned the controls over to her long enough to tinker with something and they were now leaving a trail of smoke which would only add authenticity to their call for help. The loss of navigation part of the distress call would cover their leading Perez in circles until time for them to move to the next part of their plan. It was notoriously difficult navigate by sight when everything in the jungle looked the same. They were set, Brennan thought with a smile.

_BACK IN CAMP 10 MINUTES AFTER ALEX AND BRENNAN TOOK OFF_

Booth and Nathaniel stood staring at the screen of a laptop. Gavin had pulled up the satellite feed of Perez's troops and, to their astonishment, not a single vehicle was still headed in their direction. Not that either one was relieved by that fact. The vehicles had turned in the direction of Brennan and Alex's position. They were also able to follow the choppers flight by satellite and the locater that Gavin had placed on it last night. Alex had known about the locater and had taken no steps to neutralize it so he wanted them to be able to follow them. They were all relieved to see that even though Alex had slowed his speed, he was staying out of range of any weapons that Perez would have access to that could shoot them down. They were playing cat and mouse with a hardened killer and he had taken the bait.

Booth had a hard knot of fear in his gut that he knew wouldn't be going away until he had his wife safe in his arms again. Then he was going to kill her for risking herself this way. Lost in his worries for his wife, he didn't notice as Jonas limped up beside him. The young man had to clear his throat three times before getting Booth's attention.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Sir, but Red, I mean Dr Brennan told me to give you this ten minutes after they left if Perez's troops turned away." The young man hesitantly held out a folder piece of paper and Booth snatched it as if were a lifeline. Unfolding the paper with shaking hands, he read what could be his wife's last words to him.

_Booth,_

_I know you will be angry but I have to ask you to trust me on this one. I know this man and my gut tells me my plan will be successful. And if it isn't, it was still the right thing to do. I know you won't understand that but my life measured against yours and all the other soldiers, some of whom are so dear to my heart, well, it was an easy decision. I can't, I won't just sit somewhere in safety while more people die for me. I can only hope that you love me enough to forgive me. I love you and, no matter what happens, I hope you always remember that._

_Brennan_

Booth felt tears sting his eyes as he read the note. He could feel the anguish she had felt writing it. She hadn't wanted to leave him but she had done what she thought was right and how could he really fault her for that? Wasn't that why they were all here? So far her plan was working but if they didn't figure out the plan soon, she and Alex were going to have over a 100 armed men on their ass and Booth shuddered at that thought. A sudden thought hit him and he turned to Jonas who hadn't moved in case Booth had instructions for him.

"Did my wife give you instructions in case Perez's troops didn't change course?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, Sir. She said not to bother that she would be back before they got here and she would tell you herself." Booth nodded at the younger man and looked up in surprise to see Garrett coming toward him. The normally laughing young man had such a hard, closed look on his face that Booth knew something bad had happened in the jungle.

As Garrett got closer, Booth could see that he had a large rip in the abdomen of his shirt. No, not a rip, it was too clean. That was a cut and there was quite a bit of blood around it. Not that Garrett even seemed to notice as he strode toward Nathaniel, nodding in a silent message to his commander. Without breaking stride, Garrett tossed something toward Nathaniel and Nathaniel caught it in midair. Noting there were only three men with Garrett, Booth suddenly understood what was going on. One of the suspected spies had been sent out with the team to distract Perez and he hadn't made it back. Noting the team had returned and Garrett appeared to be injured, everyone in camp gathered around to find out what the hell was going on.

"Report, soldier," barked Nathaniel.

"The bastard sneaked off and contacted Rodrigo before we were even three miles out," Garrett raised his voice to make sure everyone heard him. A swell of angry voices told him they had heard. "The threat has been neutralized," he continued and everyone quieted. These men would stand and fight to the death at each other's sides but they didn't suffer betrayal lightly. In this situation, Garrett had done what each and every one of them would have done. Gavin hurried up to check on his brother with Grant right behind him.

"Nathaniel, you need to take a look at this," Grant handed Nathaniel a folded piece of paper and, seeing that he was wounded, hurried over to Garrett.

"Where did you find this?" Nathaniel asked.

"They took a shitload of my C4." Booth almost smiled at the disgruntlement in Grant's voice. Brennan had told him how protective the Seal was with his explosives. "Dammit, Garrett, would you hold still so I can see how bad this is?" Booth winced in sympathy as Grant pulled up Garrett's shirt and displayed a pretty nasty cut.

"Dammit, Grant, would you stop poking at me?" Garrett countered.

"Quit being such a big baby and hold still," Gavin commanded his brother who shot him a dirty look but he held still. Nathaninel tossed whatever Garrett had given him to Gavin who caught it and cursed roundly.

"A freaking tracker. They knew where we were every step of the way. Did he say why he did it?" Gavin asked his brother of the unnamed soldier who would never make it out of the jungle. Not that the why mattered. A betrayal was a betrayal.

"I was a little too busy to ask, Dipwad," Garrett answered pointing at his stomach where Grant had finally cleaned up the wound enough to see it needed stitches.

"Dammit, Garrett, you should have put a field dressing on this," Grant scolded and Garrett just glared at him.

"I was fine and I needed to get back to camp," Garrett whined a little defensively, "and no freaking way are you sewing me up, not after the last time." Ignoring his words, Grant took him by the arm and started dragging him toward the tent that had been set up for injuries. Grant turned back to toss something to his brother then followed Grant, grumbling all the way. Gavin's eyes lit up at whatever Garrett had tossed him and he held it up triumphantly. Booth began to smile as he saw it was a radio and unless he was seriously mistaken, it would give them the ability to monitor Perez.

"Load up the weapons and prepare to move out immediately," Nathaniel suddenly shouted and soldiers all over camp jumped to obey, eager to finally have something they could actually do rather than just wait. "Gavin, get the other camps on the radio and give them these coordinates," Nathaniel looked at the piece of paper in his hand and gave him the numbers. Gavin scooted off to obey and Booth walked over, curious about how Nathaniel knew where to go.

"What have you got there?" Booth asked. Nathaniel handed the piece of paper to Booth without a word. It was a note from Alex. Actually, it was an outline of the plan with the coordinates Nathaniel had given Gavin. Booth had to admit the plan was brilliant in its simplicity. They were going to lead Perez on a wild goose chase as long as possible in an attempt to give all three teams time to get to the coordinates and set up an ambush. Booth could only pray that it worked. At the bottom of the note, Alex had left a personal word for his team.

_Nathaniel,_

_I know that you'll be wanting to kick my ass right about now, so get your ass in gear and meet us at the coordinates in three hours and I just might let you. Seriously, Bro, if I don't make it, please make sure that I'm buried beside Steven and don't blame yourself. You might be the man in charge but you're not God and I chose to do this. Take care of the twins. God knows, they can't take care of themselves yet. _Booth couldn't hold back a chuckle at this_. And tell Booth that I protected Red with my last breath. No matter what I will make sure that she comes out of this. _

_Alex_

Booth felt his heart lighten now that he knew what was going on and they could take action instead of just stand around helplessly and hope things turned out ok. He knew Alex would die to protect Brennan but there was no way he could take on 100 armed men. _As long as they were in the sky, they were safe,_ Booth told himself. Alex was too smart to let Perez get close enough to shoot them down. All they had to do was get to them before they hit the ground. Booth grimaced at his own word choice as he joined the man loading equipment. They needed to get to them before they landed the chopper. That was better.

"Nathaniel, Joe made it back to camp one and he wants to talk to you," Gavin called and Nathaniel hurried off. Seeing that the last of the equipment was being loaded, Booth hurried off to grab his pack and his rifle and was getting into one of the hummers when Nathaniel stopped him with a hand on his arm and a grin.

"Camp one can make the coordinates within ninety minutes and give us a lift. We'll beat them there by more than an hour, Booth." Booth was so relieved that he wanted to hug someone, but he and Nathaniel just weren't that close yet but he did give the other man a relieved grin. Letting go of Booth's arm, Nathaniel hurried off to make sure they were ready to head out while Booth bowed his head and thanked God that they already be in place when Alex and Brennan landed. They wouldn't have to face Perez and his killers alone.


	29. Chapter 29

**This one is a little short for me but I hope you like it. Please aim any sharp objects at Musie. I have no idea why she is so angsty lately but reviews might help. Hint, hint;) Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine and likely glad of it in this chapter.**

Brennan and Alex had gone over the plan but that hadn't taken long as the plan consisted of looking like a broken bird that was about to fall out of the sky and leading Perez around by the nose long enough for their forces to get to the appointed coordinates, hide and set up an ambush. They would then have no choice but to let Perez get dangerously close to draw him into the "circle" of their hidden troops to get ambushed. They would then fly behind friendly lines and land. Piece of cake. If their troops got there in time. If Perez didn't blow them out of the sky the second he got close enough. But they were set in their course of action now. Their troops would be on the move by now and they couldn't let them down.

Alex glanced at Brennan as she slipped something out of her pocket, held it to her side, studied it thoughtfully then slipped it back in her pocket. "What have you got there, Red?" he asked, making her jump. Looking at him with wide eyes, she finally sighed and pulled the item out of her pocket so he could get a good look at it. Alex looked at it and began to snicker which caused her to narrow her eyes at him which only made him laugh harder. Soon, he was laughing so hard he was crying.

"It's not that funny, Alex," she snapped, "you know how he gets when I take his things without asking. He's worse than Grant. At least Grant won't be following you around constantly giving you looks to let you know how disappointed he is in your behavior." Despite the bite in her voice, Alex could tell this really bothered her. Hell, it was the only reason Gavin did it. Gavin had learned early on that it made Brennan feel terrible to think any of her boys were disappointed with her and he only used it in dire circumstances but Alex had a feeling Gavin would consider Brennan lifting his latest very high dollar techno toy deserving of punishment.

"You want me to take the blame?" Alex offered and Brennan snorted.

"Like he would believe you could lift it without him knowing," Alex took no offense, he couldn't pick a pocket worth a damn and they all knew it.

"I could tell him he dropped it, I picked it up and forgot to give it back to him." Brennan's eyes brightened as she considered it, then shook her head. Not that she didn't think Alex could pull it off, she had complete confidence in his ability to lie convincingly about anything to anyone but she had been trying to hide it from him so he wouldn't have to lie. She wouldn't be responsible for her team lying to each other she decided as her shoulders slumped in defeat as she wondered how long Gavin would punish her this time. The last time had been a miserable 4 days in Peru and she had a feeling this gadget was going to get her a whole lot more time than that.

"Come on, Red. I'm pretty sure he'll let this one go without punishment," Alex offered. Brennan doubted it but she nodded, studying her new toy more closely now that she didn't have to hide it from Alex. Good thing for them, Perez was proving very predictable, basically following their chopper in circles. Camp two had reached the coordinates Alex had left. Camp one was partially in place and camp three (Booth) was moving to intercept the choppers that were heading back out. Brennan relayed all this to Alex who nodded in satisfaction. Not that Brennan would ever say so but it was kind of boring just riding around up here for the last hour and a half. Idly running her eyes across the instrument panel, she suddenly stiffened wanting to smack herself for the thinking things were boring. According to Nathaniel, it was just asking for bad luck.

"Alex, did you fill up with fuel before we took off?" she asked in a very controlled voice.

"Of course I did, Red. Why?" he looked at her in concern.

"Then why do we have enough fuel for approximately 20 more minutes flight time?" she queried.

"What?" Alex demanded, checking the gauge himself. Sure enough, she was right. Silently cursing, Alex went over the most likely reasons for them to have lost almost a full tank of fuel in his head and the scenario that emerged wasn't promising.

"The gauge isn't wrong is it, Alex?" she asked, a quiver in her voice.

"Not likely," he answered, his jaw clenched tightly at his own stupidity. Yeah, he'd had two of the guys go over the bird and refuel it but he should have done it himself. He would be willing to bet that a fuel line had gotten clipped during the shoot out with Rodrigo and that was almost impossible to find unless the bird was in operation like it had been today. So, it really wasn't the men's fault they hadn't found it. He should have been watching the gauges more closely and never let it get to this point. _Son of a bitch, his carelessness was most likely going to wind up getting him and the woman he loved like a sister killed._ Suddenly a small hand reached over and took the one fisted on his thigh.

"It's all right, Alex," she assured him, "we'll just have a longer walk than we expected." _Yeah, like at least 80 miles longer with the jungle growing less and less dense, making it very unlikely that Perez wouldn't catch up with them._

__

Booth jumped out of the hummer as soon as it came to a stop, more relieved than words could express to be out of confinement with his traveling companions. Damn, he couldn't believe someone else hadn't already shot the bickering pair and if he'd had a sidearm he might have rectified that little mistake but, sadly, he didn't. The first 15 minutes hadn't been so bad as they had all gone over the plan Nathaniel had outlined to everyone before they left camp, making sure they were all on the same page. He had actually been impressed at their knowledge of battle tactics and suggestions they jotted down for Nathaniel. He had only been able to give them a small portion of his attention because, try as he might, the majority of it was centered on his wife and how much danger she was in.

Gavin and Garrett had just been able to draw him into a detailed discussion of troop placement when they heard Alex broadcast a mayday and Booth's heart almost stopped. He didn't even realize that a roar of denial and fury escaped him. At that instant, all rational thought was pushed out by the need to get to his wife. It had taken four men to keep him inside the vehicle and some time for Gavin's voice to get through to him assuring Booth that if Alex and Brennan were really going down, Alex would have broadcast a codeword but he hadn't. Alex and Brennan were fine as long as they maintained their distance from Perez and stayed in the air and they had enough fuel to do that far longer than they would need to. Booth clung to those reassurances with both hands. They were the only things keeping him sane at the moment.

The twins had told him that Alex would never go into something like this without a plan. He had fired back that he wouldn't have thought Alex would do something like this at all and that had shut them up. For about three minutes. Then they had turned, before his disbelieving eyes, from well trained Special Forces grown up soldiers into a pair of three year olds, snapping, bickering and whining until he had wished for a sidearm. After twenty minutes, he had finally just yelled at them to shut up. Like real three year olds, they were startled by the loud noise, gave him reproachful looks and were immediately, once again, off and running. It was enough to make you reconsider having children. Well, more than one anyway. He had finally decided that he had no choice but to just knock their heads together but, lucky for them, they had pulled in just as he found the urge to do so becoming uncontrollable.

Shuddering, Booth told himself capture and torture was preferable to having to be confined with those two ever again. Turning, he watched as they tumbled out of the vehicle like a pair of playful puppies, not really sure what he expected from them now. It sure as hell wasn't he got. The instant their feet hit the ground they turned back into adults, Gavin immediately heading toward the communications station that had been set up and taking over. Garrett threw Booth a grin and strode off to help where he could. _What the hell?_ Booth hated to do it, but he was going to have to recommend to Brennan that two of her boys get checked out by a good psychiatrist. He wasn't sure what the problem was but, damn, they needed help.

Breathing deeply, Booth walked further into the clearing and looked around at the activity. Choppers were landing, being refueled, filled with men and equipment and taking off again with amazing regularity. Four choppers set to the side being outfitted with tripods to mount the high caliber assault weapons that would be fired out of both of the open doors simultaneously. The people getting all of this done were moving like well oiled machines. _Damn, someone ran a tight ship_. Booth had to laugh when he saw Joe step out from behind one of the choppers and yell out some orders. He should have known. Catching Booth's eye, Joe hurried over.

"How's Patty?" Booth asked, surprised that was the first thing to come out of his mouth. Joe shrugged, a soldier down to the bone and, unfortunately, death was a regular part of that life.

"She was alive when we got her to the hospital, but we did a dump and run and hightailed it back here. Didn't want to miss the fight," Joe slapped Booth on the back with a grin butBooth knew the man well and could see he was tensing up knowing they were going into battle and the likelihood of them all coming back was slim. They were all getting a little tense. Hell, you'd have to be a robot not to and the release of adrenalin kept you on your toes, hopefully making sure you were one of the ones coming back.

Brennan and Alex looked at each other. They had a very big decision to make and they both knew it. A decision that would most likely mean the difference between them living and dying. They had two options. They could send out another mayday with the code word telling their team that they really were going down but they were so short of fuel by now that there was no chance of the team being able to get evac to them before Perez caught up to them. And if the team tried to get to them which Brennan and Alex both knew they would, Perez would pick them up on radar and know they had troops in the area. It would put every single person they had sent to the predetermined coordinates in danger.

The second option also messed things up a little with the plan. They went down without another mayday and tried to lead Perez and his troops 80 miles on foot to the ambush while evading capture. Yeah, they both knew that wouldn't happen, but Gavin would be keeping a close eye on their position and would know soon after they went down. Nathaniel would be able to adjust a battle plan quickly enough to move out their troops and confront Perez before he could retreat. It would be messier for sure but still almost assured them victory. The big thing about them going down silent was they were telling the team not to risk revealing their presence by sending anyone in after them. They were telling them to let them find their own way out or they wouldn't be coming out.

Squeezing the small hand gripping his tightly, Alex asked, "Do you need to think about it?" He had never known you could be as proud of someone as he was of her when she never wavered, simply shook her head firmly. _Damn, that kind of courage from someone who had never signed up for fights like this was humbling_.

"Do you need to think about it?" she returned the courtesy of the question but never doubted his answer.

"We go down silent?" Alex held her eyes and they never flickered or wavered as she nodded her agreement.

"We go down silent." she agreed. They had both known it could come to this when they took off and put their plan into motion. But their plan had been at least partially successful and there were a lot of men alive right now that would be dead if they hadn't done it, so she was ok with that. If her life was the price she had to pay to keep the man who was her everything and the other people she cared about safe, then she would give it willingly. But she and Alex weren't dead yet and she was working on a plan that just might show that sick, psychotic son of a bitch Perez that he had picked the wrong people to mess with.

Booth was helping to lock the last 50 caliber gun in place when the people around the communications station raised all kinds of hell then just as suddenly went silent. Glancing up, Booth saw several of the men look in his direction then drop their heads, not a one of them meeting his eyes. Leaving his position without a backward glance, he strode over to find out what the hell was going on. He knew it had to be about Brennan and Alex and his gut said it couldn't be good, not with the way the crowd parted before him, no one meeting his eyes. Stalking through the thinning crowd, Booth saw the twins standing side by side in front of the impressive array of equipment.

"What?" demanded Booth but neither Gavin nor Garrett turned at his question. Rounding the table, he saw why. They were both pale, their faces masks of pain and loss. His gut clenched and his stomach recoiled but whatever the twins thought they knew, he knew his Bones wasn't dead. He was as certain of that as he had ever been of anything in his life. Looking around, he saw that Nathaniel had stalked off about twenty feet and stood staring sightlessly at the jungle. Somebody needed to talk to him and tell him what they thought they knew because Booth had seen other soldiers behave like this enough to know they thought he was going to be getting devastating news but they were wrong. Starting for Nathaniel, Booth came up short as Grant stepped in front of him.

"Do you know what nobody else apparently has the balls to tell me, Grant?" Booth demanded. He knew his voice was loud and quarrelsome but didn't really give a shit right now.

"Booth, the chopper went down about five minutes ago," Grant at least had the balls to give it to him straight and Booth was horrified at his first thought but he didn't believe it for a second. No freaking way had they been shot down. He would know if something bad had happened to Brennan and he knew she was ok at the moment.

"Where are they?" barked Booth, striding back to the twins and pinning Gavin with a gaze that said he wanted answers now.

"Booth, they went down silent," Grant tried to explain. Booth knew exactly what it meant but he didn't give a damn. All that mattered to him was his wife was now on foot with someone who wanted her dead in the worst way closing in quickly. He didn't have time for this shit.

"You know, Grant, the last time I checked my wife wasn't in any branch of the military. That makes her a civilian, a civilian we were all sent here to protect, I might add. Either way, I don't really give a damn about your freaking protocol. I'm going to get my wife and if I don't shoot Alex on sight, I may just drag his ass out of the fire. But I am going in there, Grant. Now you boys can either help me or get the hell out of my way," Booth's voice was implacable. He would not be turned from his course.

"Gavin, I need those coordinates." Booth turned back to find Garrett and Gavin standing right behind him with their packs slung across their shoulders.

"What are you going to do, Sarge?" asked Joe quietly from the sidelines.

"I'm going to get my wife, Joe."

"I'm going with you," Joe offered.

"I'm sorry, Joe, I need you here," Nathaniel broke in and Booth turned a stunned face toward him. Out of all of the others, Booth would have laid odds on Nathaniel doing whatever it took to keep Brennan safe. Steadily meeting Booth's eyes, Nathaniel continued, "It seems the party location has been moved and we don't have time to move the fuel trucks. I already have the ground forces moving in from their current positions but we need to hold this position as a refueling station and I need you here to make sure everything runs smoothly, Joe." Booth could see Joe's disappointment but gave the other man's shoulder a squeeze that let him know he appreciated his support and that they needed him doing this. Holding this point as a refueling station could mean the difference between them winning and losing and Joe was just the man to get the job done. "All right men," Nathaniel yelled, "maybe you didn't hear Booth but we have two soldiers on the ground in enemy territory so move your asses, get these choppers in the air and let's go get our men."

One chopper had already been filled with men ready to follow Booth regardless of Nathaniel's ruling but two others were quickly filled with men and weapons. They were going in hot and heavy, hitting hard with the first wave and hoping like hell the second wave was there before Perez had a chance to regroup. Booth looked out the door as the rotors started spinning and saw Grant running toward them with two packs.

"I thought he wanted to just leave Bones and Alex out there," Booth gritted out between clenched teeth as he drew Garrett's attention to Grant. His voice left no doubt what the thought of that.

"Grant would never hang Red or Alex out to dry. He just had to say goodbye to his explosives. You know, just in case it was their bedtime before he got back." Garrett returned, not a hint of humor in his voice. Then Gavin snickered at his brother's words and Booth who thought nothing could make him laugh right now found out he was wrong. The picture of Grant reading bedtime stories to crates of C4 did the trick. By the time Grant boarded the chopper, demanding to know what was so funny, everyone was laughing too hard to tell him.


	30. Chapter 30

**Hello, people. Just so you know I haven't forgotten you, you get two chapters today. This one is a little short but I think you will forgive me after the second one. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan already had the equipment gathered and the explosives ready to set when Alex gently set the chopper down in a small clearing approximately 65 miles from the coordinates they had left for the team. Brennan was able to use Gavin's new toy which allowed her to pick up real time satellite images on a hand held unit to lead Alex in a straight line to get them as close as possible to one of their units during their last 15 minutes of flight time. It wasn't going to be a picnic to get out of this by any means but they both refused to believe it couldn't be done.

As soon as the runners touched the ground, Alex climbed into the back of the chopper with Brennan and quickly checked his pack, glancing at her approvingly when he saw what she had done. One good thing about doing a black op like this was they usually had great equipment and this was no exception. They had the latest in light weight Kevlar and Brennan had already donned hers. Stripping off his shirt, Alex donned his and pulled his t-shirt back on. The Kevlar was generally worn on the outside of clothing but if the enemy soldiers saw it, they would know to take a head shot. This way, chances were they would shoot at the torso since it was a much bigger target. It wasn't much of an advantage but they needed all the help they could get.

"Ready?" asked Alex as Brennan finished placing the C4 in the chopper.

"I just need to set a couple of trip wires outside." Alex nodded. Jumping out of the chopper, it took less than five minutes for Brennan to set the trip wires and set the timer on the C4 to start when one of the wires was tripped and there was no way anyone actually getting within five feet of the aircraft could avoid tripping them. And there wasn't enough time on the timers for whoever tripped the wire to get out of the blast area before the helicopter and everything with a 20-30 foot radius was blown to smithereens. Grant had taught Brennan well and his philosophy was, if you really wanted to do some damage, you can never use too much C4 so she had used as much as she could spare from her other plan. It should be quite a show, she mused as she mentally ran through her checklist to make sure the trap was truly set. Out of habit, Alex had draped a red piece of plastic out the pilot's door. It was carried for the purpose of warning allies that it was dangerous to approach the aircraft so you didn't blow up your own team. Looking around one last time to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything, they both studied Gavin's toy, went over the plan one last time and headed straight toward where Perez's troops would have no choice but to pass.

Brennan's brilliant idea had been for them to take advantage of Grant's habit of carrying too many explosives and set up surprises for Perez. They were going to set off a series of timed explosions that would, hopefully, all but halt Perez's caravan. But time was of the essence. Perez was getting closer and every minute counted. They knew they were taking a big chance of getting captured by doing this but if it worked, the enemy would be so busy taking care of their own wounded and trying to figure out how to get the undamaged vehicles around the disabled ones, which would take some doing considering they had chosen to set these explosions in the narrowest part of the road where the jungle was impassably dense on either side, that Alex and Brennan could make a clean get away. It would also hold Perez in that position for their forces to just waltz in and take him out. Right now, Perez had the advantage of mobility and men but Brennan and Alex had the advantage of brains, ingenuity, determination and having right on their side. _They were going to kick his ass_.

The terrain they were traveling was relatively flat but the foliage was so dense that they had to push their way through. Alex and Brennan were in excellent physical shape and Gavin's gadget gave them a straight line to the target but the density of the foliage slowed them down more than either would have liked. When they reached the point that they wanted to set the ambush, they estimated they had less than forty-five minutes to set the charges and get the hell out of there. Brennan had already assembled the charges and she and Alex had taken turns studying the terrain in as much detail as the satellite provided as they trekked. The positioning of the charges had already been determined. All they had to do was set them and run. Splitting the charges with Alex, Brennan quickly showed him what to do to activate the timers. In less than twenty minutes, the trap was set and all they could do was hope Brennan had timed it right and set a course where they could, hopefully, intercept some of their forces as they came to confront the despot.

Brennan wanted to find a safe vantage point and watch the carnage but Alex nixed that with a _Move your ass, soldier_ and a disgruntled Brennan headed out, grouching that she couldn't get pictures on Gavin's toy. Since the clearing they had set the chopper down in could be reached circuitously by road and they knew Perez was a lazy sloth who wouldn't walk until he had to, they plotted their path of retreat in diametric opposition to the course he would most likely take, setting out at a fast pace. They had debated on just finding somewhere to go to ground and waiting until the heat died down, then making a run for it but decided they needed to put as much distance between them and Perez as possible for now because if their explosives didn't work, the thinning jungle foliage would make it impossible for them to keep moving and not be seen by Perez's forces. And if they were captured, they were dead and they both knew it. If fact, Brennan had made Alex promise that if it came down to it, he wouldn't let Perez take her alive. She didn't want to die but she wanted to be tortured and abused indefinitely then killed even less and she had much rather die at the hands of a friend than that psycho.

Alex had felt his gut twist when Brennan wheedled that promise from him. He knew why she needed to hear it but, in all honesty, he wasn't entirely certain he could keep the promise if it came down to it. He thought he could have done it for any of his fellow soldiers with emotional pain and regret but not her. He just didn't think he could be the one to end her life but he knew that he couldn't let Perez get his slimy hands on her again so he just had to make sure they stayed ahead of Perez and keeping the promise never became necessary. They had been trekking hard for about fifteen minutes when a sharp gasp from Brennan halted him in his tracks. Looking back, his glance expertly ran up and down her body, looking for an injury but he saw nothing until he took a closer look at her face. Her eyes were wide and panicked as they focused on the gadget in her hand, her face drained of all color. "What?" demanded Alex, stalking back to where she stood immobilized. Without a word, Brennan handed him the gadget with such a defeated air that he was puzzled for several seconds. Then he saw what had her so upset. _Son of a bitch. How had they missed that? _

"We didn't miss it, Alex. They were under cover and just started moving in. I guess he's smarter than we gave him credit for," she told him quietly, reading his mind. Their eyes met and held. They both knew they were out of time and out of options. Perez had fooled them. He'd had a force twice the size of the one he was traveling with hidden and they had just started moving to meet up with him. With their forces so focused on moving in on Perez, it was unlikely Nathaniel and the others would notice the second contingent moving in until it was too late and they were trapped between the two larger forces. They couldn't let that happen which left one option. Break radio silence and send out a warning. It could save everyone they cared about. It would most definitely pinpoint their position to Perez and dash any hope of them avoiding capture.

Booth could barely sit still as their chopper got closer to their drop coordinates. He wanted to be on the ground and catching up to his wife before she got some other damned crazy idea in her head and put herself in even more danger. It was obvious that Alex couldn't control her. Brennan and Alex both had implanted trackers and Gavin could tell they had left the site where the chopper went down and then followed a direct line of intercept for Perez. Booth had felt his heart almost stop when Gavin shared that little tidbit and he swore that when he got her home, shopping was the most dangerous place she was ever going again. He had breathed a sigh of relief when they had moved on but they had given up half of their lead time to whatever had drawn them to those coordinates so Booth knew it was important and fifteen minutes later, they all knew what it was. The jungle rocked with explosion after explosion and they were all concentrated to the small portion of jungle where Alex and Brennan had wasted so much time. Booth wasn't completely certain the two were responsible for the explosions until Grant grinned like a proud father, muttering _That's my girl_.

"Well, I'll be damned," muttered Gavin, his eyes locked on his laptop screen. Garrett got right in his brother's personal space, leaning in close and studying the screen before letting out a yell and pumping a fist into the air in victory.

"What?" demanded Booth and everyone else, all more than a little put out that they had to ask.

"They stopped over half of Perez's caravan in their tracks," Garrett informed them. Looking around, Booth could see that he was the only one who thought this might not be such a good thing. Brennan and Alex had a very slender lead time because they had stopped to set this up and it was going to seriously piss the dictator off, making him even more determined than ever to capture the two. He wasn't sure the results were worth the time the two had lost. Their incoming forces should be able to handle Perez's goons but Booth was really starting to sweat whether they were going to have enough wiggle room to find his wife and Alex and get them clear before all hell broke loose on the ground.

"Shit. Nathaniel, you need to see this," gulped Gavin.

"Sir, you have an urgent incoming from General Hood," the pilot announced at the same time. Nathaniel signaled the pilot to put the General through while leaning over to see what Gavin thought was so urgent. Booth saw the other man's eyes widen and didn't think whatever he saw was good for the seasoned soldier to give away even that much. It seemed like an eternity before Nathaniel broke the connection with Hood and he was smiling so Booth could only surmise that something was finally going their way, but Gavin was insistently trying to draw his leader's attention back to the screen.

"Don't worry about it, Gavin," instructed Nathaniel and Booth almost laughed at the comical expression that washed across Gavin's face. "Hood wanted to let us know without Rodrigo shielding Perez from the government, they have been made aware of his more recent activities and decided they wanted to join this little party. Those forces have been gathering for two days in preparation of backing us up." Booth noted the look of relief on Gavin's face and leaned over to see what looked like a hell of a big caravan moving toward Perez in tandem with their own forces. Booth was glad of the extra help but, frankly, Brennan was his only concern at the moment and they couldn't reach the drop off point fast enough to suit him. Something worrying was niggling at the back of his mind but he couldn't quite grasp it, so he started going over a mental checklist of supplies in his bag and there, he had it. Sitting forward, he grabbed Gavin's arm urgently.

"Your little gizmo that you think Bones stole," Booth started but Gavin interrupted, apparently as fond of his gadgets as Grant was of his C4.

"She did steal it, Booth. And I wouldn't exactly call one of the most sophisticated pieces of electronic equipment ever developed a gizmo," Gavin pouted. Garrett snorted.

"Would you please give it a rest, dipwad? Red won't hurt your precious toy and she wouldn't have…," Booth looked at the brothers in disbelief, fighting the urge to just push one of them out of the helicopter so he could never be subjected to this again.

"Stop!!" he yelled, his look telling them not to push him this time. "Your _equipment,_" Gavin's narrowed eyes let Booth know his sarcasm wasn't appreciated, but Booth didn't give a damn, "lets Bones and Alex see the same thing we see on your computer, right?" Gavin nodded not sure where Booth was going with this. "So, if she doesn't know those," he pointed at the new caravan, "are friendly troops, what will she think?"

"She'll think they belong to Perez," Nathaniel cursed roundly.

"What will they do?" asked Booth, not sure he wanted to know by the grim looks on the other men's faces but they answered him readily enough.

"They'll probably break radio silence to warn us of an ambush," Garrett offered softly.

"And that would be bad?" Booth really, really didn't like how no one but Nathaniel would meet his eyes.

"That would be very, very bad, Booth. It would allow Perez to get a lock on their physical location," Nathaniel answered quietly. _Oh, no, bad didn't even start to cover that scenario. _ That was simply unacceptable so they just had to get their asses in gear and get to Brennan and Alex before they could send the psycho a homing beacon, decided Booth.

Brennan instinctively bent forward and put her arms over her head protectively as the series of timed explosions ripped through the air even though their distance from the carnage made being hit by flying debris impossible. It was an instinctive reaction and she was amused to see that while not as startled as she had been, even Alex had flinched and ducked. They continued walking for several minutes before halting inside a copse of trees to study the satellite images. Thankfully, technology had matured to the point that, even though they were in such dense undergrowth, the picture they got was still very accurate. Brennan couldn't help but grunt in disappointment as she noted that the front 35-40% of the caravan had made it through before the first timer detonated, making it obvious her calculations were faulty, but the other vehicles in the caravan weren't going anywhere. Part of the undamaged vehicles were headed in the direction of the chopper but the rest were headed in their direction very, very quickly, which meant she and Alex needed to move further from the road making traveling more difficult and virtually guaranteeing they wouldn't be meeting up with any of their own troops. But first, she wanted to take a look at those other troop movements again. She just couldn't believe she had misjudged Perez's capabilities that badly. She knew from firsthand experience that the man was a brutish pig but a rocket scientist, he was not. Which could only mean there was something else going on here, she just had to figure out what.

Alex turned to hand her a bottle of water and caught the concentration on her face as she studied the satellite images. "What?" he asked quietly. She handed him the hand held unit.

"What do you see?" she asked excitedly. Alex studied the images and, at first, all he saw was a hell of a lot more people coming to hunt them down for Perez but then he saw what had her so excited. What they had assumed to be troops that Perez had held in reserve were still on the move in this direction but they were in close enough proximity to their own forces that if they had been enemy troops, they would already have been engaged in battle, not merging together and continuing to move toward Perez.

"They're not Perez's troops," he grinned, handing her back the toy.

"Nope," she grinned, her eyes sparkling. She felt like laughing aloud and doing one of Angela's happy dances. She knew they had a long way to go and they weren't out of the woods by any means, but she was starting to believe they just might make it through this.

Gavin signaled they were within a minute of their drop coordinates. Since they were technically in hostile territory, it was simply too dangerous to try to set the chopper down. If they didn't get shot down or captured in the process, they would only draw attention to their position, alerting the enemy soldiers to look for Brennan and Alex in that area. The quickest and safest way for them to get on the ground was for the pilot to hover as they slid down nylon repelling ropes until they were on the ground. The helicopter would then withdraw to safer coordinates with Gavin remaining on board with the pilot. Gavin would be able to monitor their movements and guide the pilot to safe pickup coordinates when they had located Brennan and Alex. They already knew they were within two miles of Alex and Brennan, the signals from their trackers unmistakable and, to Booth's relief; the two were hauling ass so they must both be uninjured.

Since time was of the essence, the minute the pilot signaled the okay for them to exit, Booth and Nathaniel pulled the doors on either side of the aircraft open and tossed out the free ends of the repelling ropes, smoothly sliding down them until their feet touched ground. Unhooking their harnesses, they melted into the jungle and waited for Grant and Garrett to reach the ground while they provided cover. In less than two minutes, they had waved off the chopper and were headed into the dense underbrush hot on the trail of their missing team mates.

Brennan's head came up at the same time that Alex raised his hand in a signal for her to halt. They could both hear a chopper nearby but their interest in that sound was overridden by the echoing of several some ones loudly moving through the underbrush, speaking excitedly to each other in Spanish. Listening intently, Alex held up one hand with four fingers extended indicating that he identified four individuals. Brennan nodded and silently followed Alex's hand signals to hide. She shook her head at him emphatically when he signaled that he would be back but he ignored her and silently slid into the shadows. He was back less than five minutes later and Brennan knew he couldn't have taken out four individuals that quietly and that quickly, especially when he didn't even slow down. He simply grabbed her hand and pulled her after him as quickly and as silently as possible, his eyes scanning their surroundings as they sped through the jungle. Several minutes later, Alex halted and pulled her behind an outcropping of rocks.

"We've got at least twelve men on our asses," he whispered just barely loud enough for her to hear. Brennan's eyes widened and she swallowed hard but she nodded her understanding. He opened his mouth to say something further but she could read his words in his eyes and her answer was NO. She would not go blithely onward while Alex created a diversion. They would get out of this together or not at all. Seeing her determination, Alex just shook his head and grinned at her, holding out his hand palm up. She took his hand and they were off again, but no matter how fast or silently they moved, they could hear the shuffled footsteps, the snapping of trampled sticks and knew they were not losing their pursuers who unfortunately knew the terrain much better than they did.

Two hours later, Brennan was exhausted. She and Alex had exhausted their evasive maneuvers and Alex had briefly left her alone twice to do some recon. He had taken out three men so far and had done so silently, hiding their bodies from their comrades but their options were dwindling. They needed to just take out all of their pursuers in one fell swoop but that just wasn't possible given the way they were spread out. And even if they tried, it would require gunfire which would only alert the enemy to their position making their current situation even more dire.

Seeing that Brennan needed a rest, Alex scoped out their surroundings and pointed her toward what appeared to be a shallow cave almost hidden by foliage. With a nod of relief, Brennan tiredly trudged in that direction while Alex gave her the signal that he was going to backtrack and erase their trail. Brennan looked at their potential hiding place suspiciously. While it would provide adequate cover, she didn't want to share it with creepy crawlies so she picked up a stick and poked around under the rocky outcropping; intent on making sure nothing had already set up house before she intruded. She didn't even have a chance to turn as she heard a twig snap behind her and a hand covered her mouth as she was pulled back against a hard chest. For just an infinitesimal second, she sagged against the arm around her waist, then she was wiggling and squirming and turning in those strong arms, burrowing against her husband, holding him just as tightly as he held her.


	31. Chapter 31

**Enjoy and please remember to review. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth closed his eyes on a prayer of thankfulness as he clutched his wife to him almost bruisingly. It had taken longer than they had expected to catch up with her and Alex and he had been about ready to scream with frustration when they finally got a visual on the pair who was expertly evading about a dozen of the guerillas. Nathaniel, Grant, and Garrett had silently followed Alex back into the jungle to help dispose of a few of those unwanted followers and Booth had gone to Brennan. He hadn't meant to scare her, he was just afraid she would make some sound to give away their position if he startled her so he had approached her from behind. He had thought he would have to fight the urge to shake her until her teeth rattled when he caught up with her but that thought never even entered his mind. He just wanted to hold her, to know she was safe. He would get to the other later.

Threading a hand into her hair, he pulled her head back and his lips crashed down onto hers, telling her without words that he had been terrified for her safety and pissed off at her pig headed stunt but mostly just needing that connection to prove to himself that she was really here. Brennan met the aggressive thrust of Booth's tongue into her mouth, knowing he needed reassurance of her safety and relaying how sorry she was that he had been worried in the first place. Panting, Booth broke the connection between their mouths before he dragged her into the bushes and showed her just how glad he was to see her, resting his forehead against hers. Suddenly, realizing they were exposed to anyone who cared to look, Booth peeled Brennan's arms from around his neck and held a finger to his lips, pulling her into the shelter Alex had found for them.

Booth squatted in the tight quarters and scooted until his back was against a rough, rock wall. Brennan followed him in and started to settle beside him but he pulled her into his lap, unwilling to have any distance separating them, his arms wrapping around her tightly and his face buried in her hair. He was fighting hard to stop the trembling that had started when he physically saw how close she and Alex were to being captured by Perez's men. He had logically known she was in danger but he had found out that to know it and witness it were two entirely different things. He could feel the fine tremors running through her slender body and knew she was just as relieved to see him as he was to see her. For now, anyway. She would probably change her mind when he regained his balance and the yelling started.

"Are you all right?" he asked against her neck. She nodded against his shoulder while her hands stroked his back soothingly.

"I'm fine. Are you mad?" His head snapped up and he looked at her incredulously. This was so not the place to have this conversation because he knew when it started, it was definitely going to get heated. Meeting his blazing brown eyes, Brennan winced. _Oh, yeah, he was mad._ He was so pissed, he was grinding his teeth together to keep from yelling at her and she appreciated his restraint considering his yelling would get them killed and all. In fact, she would be okay with them never, ever having that conversation. "I'm sorry you were worried and scared for me." And she was. She had refused to even let herself think of how Booth would feel when he knew their chopper had gone down because she would have curled up into a little ball of agony on the jungle floor for causing him that kind of pain. Still, she wouldn't apologize for doing what she had thought needed to be done.

"Don't ever do anything like that again, Brennan. NOT EVER," he gritted out, his brown eyes snapping with temper as his forehead came to rest against hers. She opened her mouth to argue then wisely decided to save it for later when his eyes narrowed. She had never seen Booth quite like this and while she would never, ever be scared of him, she had to admit he looked a little intimidating. She liked it. A lot and her eyes told him so. He had to bite back a grin as his irritation disappeared but he didn't want her to think she was going to get off with just the scolding she had received so far. "We will talk about this later," he assured her softly and she nodded morosely. She was certain they would discuss it to death. Booth had a tendency to nag about what he considered her dangerous behavior and, even she had to admit, she deserved at least a couple of lectures for putting him through this. Ignoring her crestfallen expression, Booth tipped her chin up and pressed a hard kiss against her mouth just as Alex squatted down and looked in at them.

"For God's sakes, you two. Do you think you can keep your hands off each other long enough for us to get the hell out of here?" he whispered. He gave Booth a shaming look, "What if I had been the enemy?" he demanded. Booth nudged Brennan forward in his lap and Alex saw that each of them had a pistol concealed between their bodies and they were both pointing directly at Alex's forehead.

"Then you would have been dead, Alex," Brennan answered Alex's rhetorical question and just rolled her eyes as his chiding expression turned to one of pride that he hadn't been able to sneak up on them.

"Nice," he grinned approvingly. "Now let's get a move on, ok?" Brennan crawled out of their resting place to see Nathaniel, Garrett and Grant looking like they didn't know whether they wanted to hug her or shake her till her teeth rattled. It was a look she was very familiar with from this group so she just ignored it. Alex didn't turn away as Booth came to his feet and Booth had to fight the urge to slug the other man, but this wasn't the time or the place. Their eyes met and Booth conveyed they would be having a little chat at a more opportune time and place and Alex nodded his understanding. _Hell, they would all probably want to take a shot at him and, if he got out of this alive, he just might let them._

Without a word, Grant motioned for Brennan and Booth to follow him as he headed out, flanked by Garrett. Booth and Brennan came next and Nathaniel and Alex brought up the rear. They had taken out the rest of the men who had been pursuing the pair but they had found radios on every man and knew that at least one of them had probably let the others know they were closing in on the fleeing pair. They were expecting the rest of the force Brennan hadn't already disabled to be on their ass soon. Granted, it wouldn't be as bad as having a hundred men dogging them but they still didn't have the best odds of coming out of this in one piece if 30-40 armed men managed to find them so their best option was to disappear before backup could get there. And before Perez realized he wouldn't be winning this battle and no longer cared about taking them alive. It was a hell of a lot harder to dodge bullets than it was men.

Brennan pulled Gavin's gadget out of her pocket, holding it down to her side and looking at it, trying to avoid anyone seeing her with it and ratting her out to Gavin. She knew they would all do most anything for her and they wouldn't mean to tell on her but Gavin was so tenacious that he wore you down until you just gave in from sheer exhaustion and she didn't think Garrett would be able to hold out against his brother's questioning. The point became moot when she realized what she was seeing on the screen.

"Get down!" yelled Brennan just as Booth recognized the hissing sound coming closer and pushed Brennan into the cover of the jungle, shoving her to the ground and covering her with his body just as there was a very loud explosion about 100 feet in front of their position. Booth cautiously raised his head and looked around for the other members of their team only after the debris from the RPG had stopped raining down on his exposed back. _Shit, this was worse than bad_. Not only had at least some of Perez's men caught up with them, they had to have a direct line of sight to fire an RPG and come that close to taking them out. Booth could only hope that had been an accidental miss and the bad guys weren't close enough to do that on purpose.

"Are you okay?" he demanded urgently from Brennan.

"Can't breathe," she gasped and he cursed loudly, quickly easing to the side of Brennan's rigid form. Booth turned her to face him, wincing at the raw, red scrape marring the soft skin of her cheek.

"Oh God, Baby, I'm sorry. Just breathe now," he encouraged as she took in deep gulps of air, her chest able to expand now that his entire weight wasn't lying on top of her. His thumb tenderly brushed over the scrape on her cheek and she managed to smile at him reassuringly.

"All teams report," came Nathaniel's commanding voice on the com link. Booth and Brennan both heaved a sigh of relief as Grant answered that he and Garrett were fine. It wasn't like using the coms were going to give away their position and there was nothing to be gained by silence at this point.

"We're good, too," Booth replied. Brennan had grabbed his arm and thrust Gavin's gadget under his nose rattling off what she was trying to show him so fast he could barely understand her words. Coupled with the way his ears were ringing from the explosion, Booth wasn't completely certain he was getting the gist of what she was telling him. _He sure as hell hoped not._

"Nathaniel, they're trying to surround us," Brennan keyed her com and shared with the others at Booth's signal_. Yep, that's what he had thought she was saying._

"Booth, do you have a clear shot to take out the rocket launcher?" Nathaniel didn't waste time on cursing a blue streak like Alex and Grant. He immediately went to work on getting them out of there. If they didn't take out the person operating the rocket launcher, they were effectively pinned down and he didn't have a shot. Right now, they were sitting ducks and every second they stayed where they were increased the risk of them being surrounded, captured or killed. Hell, they couldn't even call for air support before neutralizing something that could easily take down a chopper.

"I don't know, Nathaniel. Give me a minute to check it out." Booth slipped his rifle from his back and crawled to the edge of the cover on his belly, looking around but not spotting any movement. Quickly setting the rifle up on its tripod, he started scanning the surrounding area for the offender.

"It came from over there," Brennan offered softly, appearing at his side and pointing in a direction he had yet to scan. Nodding, he swung the scope in that direction and slowly scanned across a small rise and there he was. The bastard who had just tried to kill them was squatted partially hidden behind a large boulder and Booth wasn't thrilled with the angle of the shot he had but it wasn't like they had a lot of choices. Either he took out the son of a bitch or they were dead. No pressure of anything. "I know you can do this, Booth," Brennan supplied and Booth took a moment to look into her eyes. They met his steadily, her trust in his abilities absolute and shining from their blue depths.

"I've got the shooter, Nathaniel, and I count five more on the same ridge," Booth told Nathaniel, knowing they needed to account for a hell of a lot more men than six.

"I've got seven men at 10 o'clock," Grant broke in.

"And I've got nine at three o'clock," Alex shared. Twenty-one. Still not all accounted for but a heck of a lot closer than six.

"Ok, men, listen up. Booth, take out the guy with the rocket launcher and anyone else you can. We need to keep them away from that thing until we can move our position. Grant, when I give the signal, you and Garrett open fire on those seven men at ten o'clock. Alex and I have the ones at three o'clock." Nathaniel waited for everyone's murmurs of acknowledgement.

"Nathaniel, I can keep the guys on the ridge away from the rocket launcher as long as I can fire at them, but the second I stop, one of them will grab it and we're in real trouble again." Everyone knew what Booth was about to suggest before he continued and they didn't even give him the chance to voice the asinine suggestion that he remain behind to allow them to escape. A chorus of 'No' greeted him, the loudest one sounding directly into his ear in a very disgruntled voice and was accompanied by a pinch to his side and, damn, if Garrett wasn't right, it did hurt like hell.

Closing his eyes, Booth sent up a quick prayer for their safety and sighted the first target. Even in these dire circumstances, he couldn't quite bring himself to ask God to help his bullet find its target and take a man's life. He could only ask for the man upstairs to keep them safe and he would have to take care of the rest. In an ideal situation, snipers worked in a two man team with the most experienced man actually setting up the shot, taking into account a multitude of variables and the other guy doing the actual shooting. This situation was far from ideal and he would just have to do the best he could on his own, relying on his experience to keep him from messing up.

"Target sighted," Booth said softly, regulating his breathing and placing his finger on the trigger.

"Take the shot," ordered Nathaniel and gunfire erupted all around Brennan, so loud that she instinctively covered her ears but she never took her eyes off of Booth's face. Releasing his breath, Booth squeezed the trigger and watched as his first target crumpled in a heap, a blood stain quickly spreading across the front of his shirt. Verifying the target was going to stay down, Booth turned his attention to the other five men. He dropped three where they stood and the other two beat a hasty retreat, never even approaching the rocket launcher lying uselessly in their dead friend's hands. The sudden silence as everyone stopped firing simultaneously was a little eerie after all the earlier noise.

Knowing they needed to move fast, they were all on their feet and beating a hasty retreat within seconds, leaving behind a total of 14 dead, 3 wounded and 4 unaccounted for but those odds were a hell of a lot better than they had been ten minutes ago. No one shot at them but that didn't necessarily mean they were home free yet. It could very well mean they were still being followed and someone was just biding their time, there was just no way to know for sure. It didn't really matter because it didn't affect their game plan which was to get the hell out of Dodge quick, fast and in a hurry.

"Gavin," Nathaniel used his radio as they ran. Yes, it could be used to get a lock on their location but it wasn't like they hadn't already announced 'Here we are' with that little firefight. "Give the choppers the signal to attack the stranded part of the convoy and we could use a little air support if we have any to spare. But be careful, they have RPG capabilities." Gavin didn't waste any time, giving them the closest viable extraction coordinates, an ETA and a promise of air support.

They were less than half a mile from the clearing designated as the pickup spot, racing full out to meet the chopper they could hear in the distance when a barrage of automatic gunfire kicked up the dirt directly in front of them and they scattered, remaining in their two man teams and diving for cover. Booth pulled Brennan deeply into the concealing shadows of a copse of trees, placing her with her back against a huge tree and her front protected by him. Giving her a stern look that told her to stay put and be quiet, he turned around and scanned the surrounding area trying to identify the threat. Nothing was moving out there, absolutely nothing and Booth had no idea where the shooter was. Or shooters, rather as he was absolutely certain there had been more than one person firing on them and they hadn't meant to hit them, only to stop them from getting to their pickup point which they had done. Dammit, he could hear the chopper closing in and they needed to be in that clearing when it got there.

"Dr. Brennan, I have no wish to harm your companions, but I will if they insist on trying to protect you. If you, on the other hand, turn yourself over to me, I will allow them to meet their chopper and give them safe passage." Booth felt Brennan stiffen at his back when the first words rang out and swung to face her. He already had a good idea that it was Perez speaking but the way the blood drained from her face and she bit down on her lower lip to hold back a whimper of revulsion at just hearing the man's voice told Booth for sure who was making such a generous offer. Pulling her against his chest, he rubbed her back as shudders ran over her.

"He won't touch you, Baby. Not now, not ever," Booth promised softly and Brennan nodded.

"Maybe I should just do what he wants, Booth," Brennan whispered, her voice shaking and Booth knew she was only saying it was a logical solution to the problem, not that she doubted his ability to keep her safe but, still, it didn't give him the warm fuzzies. Before Booth could remind her that the man would never, ever let them walk away, Brennan's eyes went wide and she pulled back.

"Red," Gavin whispered dramatically in her ear, "I need you to open the link so that I can hook my laptop up to the handheld unit. I have an idea." Brennan was smiling by the time the techno genius stopped speaking and was already rapidly clearing firewalls on the unit so Gavin could access the feed. Booth figured it was okay to talk on the coms so he keyed his unit and asked for everyone's status. Everyone reported they were fine but Brennan instantly knew when one of her people was hurt. Cutting Gavin off midsentence, she keyed her com.

"How badly is he hurt, Alex?" she demanded and Booth looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"He took two rounds in the leg and he's bleeding a lot," Alex answered over Nathaniel's orders to keep his mouth shut. Brennan rolled her eyes.

"Can he walk? Gavin has an idea but we're going to have to move fast." Brennan's was trying to keep her voice no nonsense but Booth could hear the worry underlying it and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Yes, _he_ can walk," snapped Nathaniel, "and _he's_ still in charge of this mission until told otherwise so you two can just stop talking about me like I'm not even here." Booth saw the grin of satisfaction on Brennan's face and knew that she had done exactly what she had meant to do. He wasn't quite sure why she had wanted to piss Nathaniel off but it had definitely worked.

"Thanks, Red," Alex laughed. "Nobody can piss him off quite like you do, although, God knows, I try." Brennan switched back to Gavin who was waiting very impatiently to finish their conversation. Booth only caught one side of the conversation but his understanding was that the handheld unit was a prototype and had some special features not available on any other satellite surveillance equipment but combining the feed from his laptop and the handheld unit, Gavin could pinpoint the positions of the bad guys closely enough to send in an RPG and take them out. The only problem was that there were six men too close to their current positions to safely fire anything at them. They needed to be taken out from the ground.

"Dr. Brennan, I don't think you heard me before. I will let your men go if you turn yourself over to me at once," Perez made a real effort to make his voice congenial but no one bought it for a second and Brennan wasn't about to answer him and give away their location. "Very well, then you give me no choice," he threatened just as bullets began to pepper the jungle around them. The idiots were shooting blind and didn't come anywhere near Booth and Brennan but Booth still drug her to the ground and pushed her behind some trees for cover.

"This guy is really beginning to piss me off," Booth muttered.

"Good," answered Gavin, "I have a shooting solution on all six men if you guys can take time out of your busy day help me out here." Booth looked at the com. He could not believe they were trapped on the ground, people were shooting at them and the kid was giving them attitude. Brennan just rolled her eyes at Gavin's words.

"We're ready, Gavin," broke in Nathaniel and Gavin immediately began rattling off the best shots from each position. He had to verbally guide each shooter in aiming blind and they all just had to hope they either dropped their targets or wounded them badly enough they wouldn't be able to pursue them. Another problem was there were only five shooters and six targets. If the sixth man didn't get scared off when his buddies started falling around him, one of them would just have to reaim and take him out. It felt like forever but was actually only minutes when Gavin gave the all clear and they all took their shots.

Since Brennan had Gavin's gadget, they had an advantage over the rest of their team and knew instantly that five men went down and only one got back up, but they were already on their feet, Booth pushing Brennan before him toward the clearing. Alex and Grant were on either side of Nathaniel and he was moving as fast as he could with Garrett covering the rear. Booth pulled Brennan into the clearing and knew that the chopper would be here in less than four minutes, he just had to keep her safe for that much longer. No sooner had that thought run through his head than he heard gunfire erupt behind them and knew the rest of their team was taking fire. Brennan gasped and spun around, already moving to go back and help them. Booth stopped her with a hand on her upper arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

"We have to help them, Booth," she shot back, tugging hard to free her arm and Booth knew she was right. He had to go back and do what he could but she was staying put. Pulling her down behind a huge fallen tree, Booth took her face in his hands and looked her sternly in the eyes.

"I'm going back to help them, Bones, but you're staying right here. No arguing," he insisted when she opened her mouth to do just that. "I either stay here and keep you here or I go back and help your boys. Now, which one will it be?" He already knew which choice she would make and was checking her gun to make sure it was loaded before handing it to her. "Shoot anything that moves that doesn't identify itself. Ok?" She nodded and he leaned down to kiss her quickly. "I love you," one more quick kiss and he was gone before she could get the words past the lump in her throat.

Booth met up with his group about one hundred yards from the clearing and the shooting was over with. Seeing they were all safe, he did an about face and hurried back to Brennan, very uneasy about leaving her alone even for that short amount of time. With a sigh of relief, he saw she was just where he had left her and the chopper was descending into the middle of the clearing. Holding out a hand, he motioned behind him with his head for her to see that her boys were fine and she jumped up to take his hand and start for the chopper.

It must have been the noise of the rotors on the chopper turning that masked the first shot. Booth felt Brennan jerk forward as if she had been tackled from behind and spun around to see one of the guerillas standing at the edge of the woods with an evil smile on his face as he looked at Brennan where she had fallen. His gun was up and he was firing just as the second shot caught him in the upper arm. Booth had much better aim than the other guy. A large hole appeared in Perez's forehead and he was dead before he hit the ground. Not even noticing he was hit, Booth dropped to his knees beside his wife, his hands shaking as he reached out to run them over her back and figure out where she was shot.

He couldn't feel any blood but she wasn't moving and that scared the crap out of him. As gently as possible, he turned her over and saw her eyes were wide open and looked at him in panic as she tried unsuccessfully to suck in a breath. Still searching for a bullet wound, Booth had no idea why she couldn't breathe until his hand ventured under her shirt and should have met bare skin. Only it didn't, it met Kevlar and then he understood. She had been shot but the impact from the bullet had been absorbed by the Kevlar and had literally taken her breath away. Pulling the Velcro closings on the body armor, Booth loosened the pressure on her chest and took her in his arms.

"Breathe, Baby," he cajoled, holding her against his chest and resting his forehead against hers. She looked at him and shook her head to indicate she couldn't. "Yes, you can," he insisted, "just look at me and relax and breathe," he spoke soothingly and stroked her hair but inside he was frantic. What if she couldn't breathe? They were in the middle of the freaking jungle and if she was seriously hurt, she could die before they got her to help. He felt her begin to relax and hoped she wasn't just passing out from lack of oxygen but then he felt her chest expand at the same time he heard her take a gasping breath and it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard in his life. Forcing himself not to squeeze what little air she was taking in out of her, he closed his eyes and sent a prayer of thanks heavenward, even as she struggled to sit up.

"Let me take her, Booth," Alex urged, squatting down beside them. Booth nodded, knowing they needed to get the hell out of here and he was shaking with relief so hard that he wasn't sure he could stand unassisted, much less get Brennan in the chopper. Alex scooped Brennan up and Garrett and Grant pulled Booth to his feet and toward the chopper. As soon as he was inside, he reached for her again and Alex handed her over. Settling her on his lap, Booth wasn't sure what he wanted to do more, hold her close and never let her out of his sight again or yell at her for putting herself in that kind of danger in the first place. God, she could have been dead with him standing right beside her and surrounded by a Special Forces team, she was shot in the back and none of them had seen it coming. _What the hell kind of protectors were they?_


	32. Chapter 32

**Well, guys, I'm back. Enjoy and let me know what you think. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

Since Nathaniel's injuries were considered serious and he would require surgery to remove at least one of the bullets, Alex, Grant and Gavin were dropped off at the refueling station to continue as leadership for their side of the attack, even though the battle was almost over and they were mostly just rounding up stragglers now. Nathaniel, Booth, Brennan and even Garrett who had torn open the stitches in his abdomen had been sent directly to the hospital at Grant's insistence. Booth had strenuously insisted that he was fine but had just as strenuously insisted that Brennan be checked out fully. She, of course, had insisted that she was fine and that Booth needed medical attention. Grant told them all to stuff a sock in it and scared the crap out of the chopper pilot by telling him that if he did not arrive at the hospital with four patients, Grant would hunt him down. After that there was zero chance of any of them talking their way out of the trip to the hospital.

Brennan had been examined and pronounced to be a very, very lucky woman. If not for the Kevlar she had been wearing, the bullet would have gone directly through her heart and she would have been dead before she hit the ground. She had a huge bruise on her back spreading around her side and a couple of bruised ribs but she was more than thankful to escape with only those injuries. The shot to Booth's upper arm was a through and through. Thankfully, it did no damage to the muscles or bones and required only cleaning and stitching. He was also given massive injections of antibiotics to stave off any possibility of infection and a tetanus shot which he objected to but since he didn't have any proof of when he had received his last one, the doctor insisted.

Garrett received twenty seven stitches to his abdomen, antibiotics and a tetanus injection, never once objecting to being treated. Brennan saw why when she entered his cubicle to find one female doctor and two attractive nurses fussing over the young man. He winked at her and she rolled her eyes at him. Booth burst out laughing when he joined them a couple of minutes later. Nathaniel had been taken straight to surgery when they arrived. One of the bullets had nicked one of the smaller arteries in his leg and needed to come out so they could stop the bleeding completely. The three of them had been released and asked for directions to the surgical waiting room so they could be there when Nathaniel came out of surgery. He was, after all, family. To their surprise, General Hood showed up in the waiting room about ten minutes after they did.

General Hood had originally come to Nicaragua when Patty was injured because it was too touch and go to move her for several days but she was doing well now and had been shipped back to the states. General Hood had elected to stay behind and clean up his daughter's mess and offer whatever assistance he could with the operation to take out Perez. He wanted to inform the group that very little real firepower had been necessary to capture the men that Brennan had stranded with her explosions. Just seeing what they were up against had made most of them lay down their guns and give up. There were, of course, some exceptions and therefore, some casualties, but the good guys hadn't lost a single man and General Hood credited that largely to Brennan, ignoring Booth's look telling the older man to not encourage her.

For their own safety, General Hood appropriated a smaller room for them to wait in and posted guards on the door. He informed them that after visiting Nathaniel, they would be escorted to the American Embassy and would need to have armed escorts if they left the grounds. Hood didn't think Perez had any family or friends that might be out for revenge but it was better to be safe than sorry. The general pulled Brennan aside a profusely apologized for his daughter's actions and informed her that she could file formal charges against Patty as soon as they got back home. The man left the room with tears of gratitude in his eyes when Brennan gently informed him that she had no intention of filing charges against Patty provided that she got the psychological help she needed and stayed far, far away from her. Hood assured her that Patty was already in treatment and he would, personally, make sure Brennan never saw her again.

Booth looked at his wife and thought about the strides she had made in understanding other people over the course of their partnership. Five years ago, she wouldn't have cared why Patty did what she did, she would have just insisted that she be punished for it and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was just the person Brennan had become to protect herself from being hurt by others. But she had somehow, even after life had taught her that everyone betrayed her eventually, found the courage to believe in herself and others around her, giving them pieces of her heart and the ability to hurt her if they ever misused those pieces. Even him. He had failed her in so many ways during their partnership but she had forgiven him each and every time and opened that big heart of hers and let him in.

But that didn't change who she was on a fundamental level. Brennan was a doer, she saw something that needed to be done and she took care of it. Again, that was not a bad thing. In fact, it was one of the things that Booth most admired and respected about her. He was just having a little bit of a hard time dealing with the fact that she had essentially set herself up as bait for Perez and his men without consulting him, her husband. He knew she loved him and had agonized over her choice and his response to it. He knew she had logically weighed the alternatives and chosen the one she thought would save the most lives. And, yes, he knew the reasons she hadn't consulted him, or Nathaniel, for that matter but after seeing her fall under a bullet from that psycho's gun with himself and the rest of her mighty protectors within an arm's reach, he was feeling just a tad unreasonable. For those few seconds, he had thought that he had lost her and even seeing her standing directly in front of him obviously fine could not banish the image of her falling or erase the emotions of thinking she was gone. He wasn't sure that anything ever could.

Garrett eyed Booth warily as the big man restlessly prowled the small room. He was still coming to terms with Brennan and Alex's little stunt so he couldn't imagine how her husband felt about it. Well, yeah, he could. It was pretty obvious that Booth was…perturbed with his wife and Garrett couldn't really blame the guy. He and the guys were pretty used to some of her wilder stunts but this one had given them all pause. Although any one of them would have done the same thing if faced with that situation, it was different when they were talking about Red. It was also becoming clear that Booth had no real idea how to deal with this side of Brennan and Garrett would love to help him out with that one but all he could do was wish the guy luck because the five of them had barely been able to keep up with her in the good old days.

Brennan watched Booth pace and stifled a yawn. She knew he was upset and she wished she knew how to make it better but she just didn't and she was almost too tired to even try at the moment. The doctor in the emergency room had insisted on giving her some pain medications and muscle relaxers and she was fighting to hold her eyes open long enough to see for herself that Nathaniel was fine then they could head out to the embassy and Booth could go ahead and yell at her. Maybe that would make him feel better. Then they could take a shower in a real tub and go to bed on a real mattress. She knew that would make her feel better. Catching his eyes on her, Brennan gave him a sleepy smile that he couldn't help but return as her eyes drifted shut. Seconds later, she felt him settling onto the sofa beside her and putting his arm around her shoulders, pulling her toward him so her head rested comfortably on his shoulder.

"I love you, Booth," she murmured around a yawn as she relaxed against him and snuggled close. With any other woman, Booth would have suspected the words were a way to manipulate his mood but not with his Bones. She didn't even know how to play those games and wouldn't see the point even if she did. She said it because she meant it. _God, it was hard to stay mad at someone who held your heart in their hands like that._ Not that he was mad. Exactly. He wasn't sure how he felt right now except for being thankful to be holding this amazing woman in his arms.

"I love you, too, Baby. Go to sleep now. We'll talk later," Booth pressed a kiss against her forehead and settled her more comfortably against his uninjured arm and shoulder, looking over to glare at Garrett at his inelegant snort. "What?" demanded Booth.

"Damn man, I can't believe you caved that easily," Garrett chided to Booth's confusion. "You just cost me forty bucks," he continued accusingly.

"Garrett," Booth growled threateningly and Garrett filled him in.

"It's a little standing bet we all have when Red pulls one of her stunts. Everyone bets on how long it will take her to achieve forgiveness, for lack of a better term. I thought you would at least last until we left the hospital. Pitiful, man, truly pitiful. You were a Ranger for God's sakes." Garrett's voice was now accusing and Booth was getting the gist of the conversation, but he really didn't want to know how often Brennan had pulled stunts like this in the past. He wasn't sure his heart could take it. He was curious about one thing, though.

"Did anyone bet on me?" he asked and Brennan snorted against his shoulder. He looked down at her to find one eye partially opened and looking at him sleepily as Garrett chuckled in genuine amusement.

"Of course not," Garrett assured him cheerfully.

"Why not?"

"Because I always win," his wife informed him just as cheerfully.

Booth gently shook Brennan awake as the surgeon made his way into the waiting room. She sat up and rubbed her eyes groggily, unable to hide her wince and moan of pain when she moved her arms. She didn't notice the way Booth's mouth tightened at the reminder of her injury but Garrett did and he had a feeling these two were going to have one hell of a fight to clear the air just as soon as they got a little privacy. Garrett had to admit that Booth had some legitimate grievances but it went without saying that if Booth hurt her in any way, they would take him out without a second thought. Not that Garrett thought it would come to that, he thought Red had a pretty good idea how to handle her husband. Still, it might not be a bad idea to ask for the room next to theirs at the embassy just in case. If there were raised voices, he was the most levelheaded of the bunch where Red was concerned. Nathaniel, Alex, Grant and even Gavin threw punches first and asked questions later.

Booth stood and helped Brennan to her feet just as the doctor approached with a big smile on his face, so they knew it had gone well. They were informed that Nathaniel had come through the surgery without complications and would be free to travel home within the next 24 hours provided there were medical personnel on the flight. Then they were escorted to the patient's room and given ten minutes. Surprisingly, Nathaniel was propped up on a couple of pillows awake and alert or so Booth thought until he grinned at them like an idiot.

"Hello, gorgeous," he greeted Brennan with another big smile. Booth stiffened but Brennan laughed and walked over to the bed.

"I see that you're enjoying your medication, Nathaniel," she cheerfully returned his greeting. "How are you feeling?" Sitting down in the chair beside the bed, she laid a sympathetic hand on Nathaniel's forearm. Nathaniel gave the other two men a goofy grin and returned his attention to Brennan.

"I'm fine, Red," he assured her, "but you know I'm going to have to kick Alex's ass when I get out of here, right?" Brennan snorted and rolled her eyes.

"You're not going to kick Alex's ass, Nathaniel. I'm the one who talked him into flying the helicopter, so if any punishment is administered, I must insist that I be the recipient." Brennan started as all three men snorted in unison, rolling their eyes at the thought that any of them would ever harm her in any way. To Brennan's way of thinking, the little chat she and Nathaniel had just had about her activities made it clear that Alex was under her protection. To Booth's way of thinking, not so much.

"Sorry, Nathaniel, but Alex is mine," Booth stated firmly and Brennan's head snapped up to see that her husband had his serious face on. _Oh, this was bad_. She couldn't let Booth try to hurt Alex for something she had talked him into doing.

"No, Booth," she protested, "none of this was Alex's fault. I can't let you hurt him." Booth was a little mollified by his wife's belief that he could actually hurt the younger, very physically fit soldier.

"He won't hurt Alex, Red," Nathaniel told her with a grin. Booth wasn't sure if Nathaniel meant that he couldn't take Alex or Brennan would talk him out of even trying but it didn't really matter because he and Alex would definitely be having a private chat. "You can try but I have to warn you that he kicks back," he added to Booth.

They wound up staying half an hour and would have hung around even longer but one of the night nurses was a real dragon and ran them off, telling them Nathaniel needed rest more than he needed visitors. Booth was surprised that he didn't feel even a twinge of jealousy when Brennan leaned over the bed and kissed Nathaniel on the cheek as she bid him goodbye.

"Booth," Booth was following Brennan out of the room when Nathaniel called him back. Motioning her to go with Garrett and find the guard who was supposed to drive them to the embassy, Booth walked back to the younger man. Nathaniel's body must have processed a lot of his earlier medication because he wasn't at all goofy right now. He was extremely serious as blue eyes met brown. "Don't be too hard on her, Booth. She did what she thought was right and we could all yell at her for months and she would still turn around and do the same thing again if presented with the same options. It's just who she is. She looks out for everyone else before herself."

Booth already knew all these things about his wife and had stiffened in affront at Nathaniel presuming that he knew Brennan better than he, Booth, but as the young man continued Booth understood what Nathaniel was doing. He was officially acknowledging Booth's place as the person Brennan answered to, passing the torch as it were. He was telling Booth that not only was it his right to protect Brennan from here on out but her longtime friends and protectors would step back and trust him to do it. Booth knew this had to be difficult for the young man, handing over a job that had always given him a special place in her life but he had made his peace with Nathaniel's feelings for his wife and he decided to take the advice in the spirit was offered. As an olive branch of true friendship.

"I appreciate the advice, Nathaniel," Booth offered sincerely and he was curious about how Brennan had responded to Nathaniel trying to make her follow orders although he had a good idea how that had gone and he was guessing not well. "Does she ever listen when any of you yell at her?"

"She always listens. Unfortunately, we only figure out what she's up to after the fact and by then, she's not in danger anymore," Nathaniel sighed as if he and his team were a total failure when it came to keeping Brennan in line. Booth wanted to laugh because, damn, he knew the feeling. He did grin as his eyes met Nathaniel's and he saw they understood each other perfectly. "One more thing," Nathaniel said, turning serious again. "Alex would do the same thing over again, too, Booth. He and Red got really close after Steven died and he would do anything for her so he'll let you take your best shot at him and I know you want to but I highly recommend that you don't do it somewhere that Red is going to find out about because she will not be happy about her boys fighting." Booth could tell Nathaniel was speaking from experience but his look clearly said _Don't ask_ so he didn't.

"Got it. Don't slug Alex in front of Bones." Booth didn't understand why Nathaniel broke into guffaws of laughter until her heard Brennan's outraged gasp behind him. His eyes narrowed at the laughing young man. "Thanks a lot, Nathaniel. A little warning would have been nice."

"I honestly didn't see her come in, Booth," Nathaniel held up his hands in a placating gesture and Booth turned to face his wife.

"Booth, you are not going to hit Alex," she told him firmly, arms crossed over her chest, foot tapping the floor impatiently. She was deadly serious and he could feel himself softening, knowing he couldn't hold out against something that important to her. Damn, he was a wuss when it came to his wife. So what? It wasn't like that was news to him or anyone else and he could live with it so it wasn't anyone else's business. Taking the two steps necessary to put himself in front of his glaring wife, he tipped her chin up with a finger and glared back for second before giving her a hard, swift kiss on the lips.

"Fine. I won't hit Alex. I'll just talk to him. That is ok, isn't it?" He couldn't keep the grin off his face as she leaned against him and got that cute little line between her eyebrows that told him she was giving serious consideration to his words before giving her answer.

"I find that an acceptable alternative to a physical altercation, yes," she finally concluded, nodding. Laughing, Booth wrapped his arms around her and squeezed as tightly as he could without causing her pain from her injury. She was baffled but pleased with his mood so she hugged him back and smiled back at a smiling Nathaniel over his shoulder. The two men certainly seemed to have had a good talk, it had definitely put them both in a good mood which surprised Brennan a little considering things were a usually a little tense between the two. She had really expected that with them both exhibiting such strong alpha male tendencies but it was good they were working things out. They were both important to her and she wanted them to at least like each other. "Are you ready to go?" she asked when Booth showed no signs of releasing her. Not that she wanted to be out of his arms but she did want a hot shower, a hot meal and a soft bed, in that order.

"Yeah, Baby, I'm ready. Bye Nathaniel." Booth's arm remained around Brennan's shoulders and Brennan leaned heavily into his side as they headed out.

Nathaniel watched them exit the room with a surprising amount of gladness for them in his heart. Any idiot could look at the two of them and see they belonged together. They obviously loved each other but it was more than that. They completed each other. They read each other's minds and finished each other's sentences and they seemed to understand each other in an indefinable way that Nathaniel had seen only a few times before, his parent's being one of those times. Nathaniel knew without a doubt that he could have made Brennan happy, they could have had a good life together but no one would ever make her happy in the same way, fulfill her in the same way that Booth did and he loved her enough to want that for her and to be happy for her that she had found it. She belonged to Booth now and that was that.

Brennan and Booth followed the butler into the guest room that had been assigned to them with relief. They were both running on fumes and Brennan didn't think anything had ever looked as inviting as that big, fluffy bed against the far wall. She wanted nothing more than to walk over and sink into its softness and sleep for at least three days but she was filthy and a shower was the first order of business. She was surprised that they were presented with a wide assortment of clothing and personal care products for their use. Apparently many people showed up at the embassy with only the clothes on their backs and it was a necessity to keep these items on hand. The butler finally left the room, telling them to just call down the kitchen and food would be brought up as they had a 24 hour staff.

Booth watched with interest as Brennan strode across the room headed for the bathroom, already pulling her t-shirt up. He was by her side instantly when her shoulder froze and she groaned, slipping that arm out of the sleeve of the shirt and easing it over her head for her. In the bathroom by now, he turned her toward the light and felt fury wash over him anew at the darkening bruising on her soft, delicate skin. God, he wanted to punch something, he wanted to yell, to rant and rave and release some of his anger over Brennan being hurt, over her putting herself into the position of being injured in the first place. Hell, he wanted to shoot Perez a few more times. The one thing he didn't want to do was fight with his wife tonight and he was afraid that if he opened his mouth, that was going to be exactly what happened.

Looking at Booth's face in the mirror, Brennan saw the anger simmering in his eyes as he looked at the bruises on her back and side and knew there would be an accounting and soon but when she opened her mouth to tell him again that she was sorry that he had been upset, he placed a finger across her lips.

"No talking," he whispered. Squatting down, he helped her out of her boots and socks then stood up and undid her pants and pushed them and her underwear down her legs, leaving her naked. Walking into the large shower, Brennan flipped on the water and turned to watch with interest as Booth quickly stripped down to his skin, wincing a little when he pulled the stitches in his arm. Noting the way Brennan was eyeing him as he stepped into the shower behind her, Booth grinned. He'd had a few thoughts on some excellent tension relief methods in the last few minutes and he was eager to get started.

Brennan quickly wet her hair but couldn't lift her left arm up high enough to work in the shampoo. Booth took over and worked the shampoo into her scalp, gently backing her under the spray of the water and rinsing her hair. Slicking her hair back from her face with her right hand, she turned and reached for the shower gel and Booth caught sight of the bruise on her back again. Unable to stop himself, he reached out a hand and lightly traced the edges of the bruising over her shoulder, down her back and down around under her arm, his jaw clenched so tightly his teeth ground together. His arm slipped around her waist, his big hand splayed wide against her stomach and pulled her back against him so tightly he was almost afraid he was hurting her but he couldn't make himself loosen his hold. His hand drifted up to spread just below her left breast right over her heart. He needed her to be this close to him, to feel her warm skin and her beating heart so he knew she was alive. Dropping his head to rest on her uninjured shoulder, he shuddered against her as he closed his eyes and relived those awful moments when she had fallen and he had thought he had lost her forever.

Brennan felt Booth's anguish just as clearly as if he had told her what he was feeling and she had to try to comfort him, despite his earlier warning. And that's exactly what his words had been, a warning that they were going to have diametrically opposing views on the subject and any discussion they had was likely to get heated at the very least. She could understand that he had been upset with what she had chosen to do and she was truly sorry for that. She could understand his fear and anguish when he thought she had been shot and she was sorry for that, too. But she honestly couldn't say she was sorry for what she had done or that she wouldn't do the same thing again in the same situation. She wanted to comfort him, not piss him off further so she couldn't tell him that. She doubted she would ever tell him that. But she could tell him what she was sorry for.

"Booth, I'm sorry..," her words ended on a gasp as his hand fisted in her hair and he tilted her head up and to the side so he could reach her lips.

"Uh, uh. No talking tonight, Baby," he growled against her mouth, his lips settling firmly on hers, pushing them apart and taking utter and complete possession of her mouth, his tongue pushing aggressively past her lips and teeth to rub demandingly against hers. Melting back against his chest, her bottom pressed more snugly against his growing erection and she couldn't hold back a husky moan or stop herself from pressing back against him more firmly as the hand on her chest slid down low onto her abdomen, holding her in place while he returned the pressure from behind. With a sigh, she tried to turn in his arms, a little disgruntled when he laughed and held her in place with the arm around her waist and the hand on her abdomen.

"Booth, I want," she gasped as he dribbled the body wash down her front and began to spread it with his hands.

"I know what you want, Baby, and I'll give it to you. Eventually," he whispered against her neck and her startled eyes flew to meet his, catching just the hint of temper smoldering there.

_Ah, now she understood_. She had misbehaved, in his estimation. She would be happy to discuss the situation with him in an adult manner but she would not be summarily punished like an unruly child, she decided, working herself into a high dudgeon over her conclusions. And she took special exception to the thought that Booth would use sex as a punishment. That was just utterly unacceptable in her opinion.

Booth watched her and could almost see the wheels turning in her brilliant mind and he was guessing she was thinking she was being punished right about now but tonight wasn't about punishment. He didn't want her to feel anything even remotely resembling pain. Quite the opposite, in fact, he wanted her to feel only pleasure. He wanted her to be so steeped in the pleasure they could only find with each other that she would understand that they were a part of each other and she couldn't just make the unilateral decision to risk her life for something. They were both halves of a whole unit and she could never do that to him again, try to leave him without giving him a choice in the matter. He had no idea how to explain that to her and tonight he was just too upset to try so he was doing this one his way.

Brennan wanted to angrily push herself out of her husband's arms and righteously march away but she had hesitated too long and knew she was in trouble the instant his soapy hands glided up and cupped her breasts, weighing and shaping them in his hands, his thumbs feathering over her peaked nipples. His teeth nipped at her earlobe and moved down to scrape along the side of her neck in a move that never failed to make her belly flutter and her knees weaken and it didn't fail now. She groaned and her head tipped to the side to give him better access as her back arched, pressing her straining breasts more firmly into his slippery hands and she ground her ass firmly against his hard on. Her hands moved backward to grasp the sides of his hips and pull him against her more firmly, wiggling until his erection slipped between her thighs, dragging a moan from his lips as he bit down on her shoulder.

"Booth, we need to talk about this," Brennan moaned as he dragged her head around for another hard, possessive kiss.

"You don't want to do this tonight, Bones, and I sure as hell don't want to do this tonight. So, no, we're not going to talk about it." She could see the glint of anger in his eyes growing stronger but she wasn't about to back down. If it was upsetting him this much, he needed to talk about it. No way would he let her stew in this kind of mood. He would do whatever it took to get her to talk to him and she could do no less for him.

Taking advantage of her being distracted by her thoughts, Booth slipped the hand rubbing her abdomen lower through the patch of damp curls and found that sensitive bud of pure sensation swollen and begging for his touch. God, she was ready for him, but he already knew that. How could he not when his hard cock was sliding along her slick folds, being drenched in her juices with every instinctive rock of his hips? And he wanted to be inside her with a ferocious need he'd never felt before. His gut was tied in knots, his arms actually trembled with the effort to keep from crushing her against him. He understood it was probably a reaction from the day's, hell the last few weeks, events but that didn't make it any easier to resist the urge to bend her over, slip inside her snug depths and pound into her until both of them were too weak to talk or even to walk. The only thing that held him in check was knowing she was injured and he would never cause her further pain for any reason if he could help it.

Brennan gasped and her hips bucked forward against his teasing fingers then backward as she clenched her thighs tightly around his hardness and rode him. Booth groaned deep in his throat and rubbed her clit more firmly and Brennan knew if she didn't stop him now, she wouldn't be stopping him at all. She loved what Booth could make her feel and would gladly make love with him even when she was pissed but it really bothered her that he was using her body against her like this. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. It just felt like if she let him do this to her, it would taint their lovemaking from here on out and she couldn't bear for that to happen, couldn't bear for something that beautiful and precious to be tarnished.

"Booth, I want to talk," she said as firmly as she could considering she was on the verge of orgasm and his other hand had resumed playing with her breasts, rolling and pinching her nipples.

"Fine. You can talk, Baby. You can say yes, Booth and more, Booth and please, Booth but that's all," he growled, the temper starting to come through in his voice. Brennan stiffened and looked over her shoulder with narrowed eyes.

"And what if I want to say something else, Booth?" she demanded, not at all reassured by the wicked grin that spread across his face.

"Then I guess I'll just have to make sure those are the only words you can remember." The hand between her legs increased the pressure and speed of his strokes and she was panting for breath, especially when he began to deliberately thrust his hips against her, rubbing his rigid cock against her slick folds hard and fast but just shy of penetration. The heat unfurling in her belly and centering between her thighs was scorching, so searingly hot that she wouldn't have been surprised to see steam rising off of her body as the water from the shower reached those portions of her anatomy.

"Please, Booth," she gasped, tugging at the hand between her legs and Booth smiled, thinking that little battle was over. "Not as punishment," she groaned, unable to stop her hips from pushing back against his, thrust for thrust. Booth instantly stilled at the tears he could hear in her voice. _What the hell was he doing?_ Yes, he was pissed but he could have at least tried explaining it to her because he had to admit he had known what she had been thinking. And even though he hadn't even been aware of it, maybe she had been just a teeny bit right, his conscience admitted with a good deal of self disgust. God, he couldn't believe he had almost used his knowledge of her body and its responses to him against her. That was so far out of line that it bordered on the unforgivable.

"God, Baby, I'm sorry," he swung her around and pulled her against his chest, his arms closing spasmodically around her but he was careful not to hurt her by squeezing too hard. Brennan's arms slipped around his waist and she relaxed against him resting her head against his shoulder.

"I know you're angry, Booth," she whispered against his ear, "but I don't know what to do to make it better." The bewilderment in her eyes and voice tore at Booth's heart as she lifted her head and looked him in the eye. He could see that she was hurting because he was and he had never meant for that to happen. Brennan was telling him the God's honest truth. She had no idea how to make it better. She could say that she loved him more than her own life but that wouldn't come as news to him. She could tell him that she had taken the measures she had because he would most likely have died today otherwise and she didn't want to live in a world that he wasn't a part of but he didn't want to talk about it and she didn't want to further upset him. She could have told him that she would choose to sacrifice herself to protect him from certain death every single time that choice was put before her but she knew that would definitely rile him up so she did what she always did when she was floundering in uncertainty.

"Tell me how to make it better, Booth," she almost begged, tears sparkling in her eyes. Tears that he had put there, he thought, his heart clenching at the sight.

"I don't know how to make it better, Baby," his forehead dropped against hers. "I am angry, Bones, and we will talk this out. But, please, Baby, not tonight. I just can't think about what happened today one more time without going crazy." He sighed and cupped her face in his palms when she nodded. "And me wanting to be inside you had nothing to do with punishment. Trust me, Baby, the only thing I was thinking about was pleasure." She searched his eyes, melting against him when she saw only love and a hint of apology. She also suddenly saw that Booth exactly what he had been up to. He was very physically demonstrative and was having a hard time holding his anger in check. It was natural for him to see sex as an acceptable alternative form of stress relief and when Brennan looked at it like that, rather than as a form of punishment, she couldn't have agreed more.

"I love you, Booth," she whispered against his lips as they closed over hers tenderly. He kissed her long and lingeringly, only drawing back when she whimpered into his mouth and tried to deepen the kiss.

"I love you, too, Bones, and we will work this out," he assured her gently. With another quick peck on the lips, he spun his confused wife around and grabbed the shower gel and loofah. Quickly lathering it up and starting to gently soap up her back, he forced his eyes up and away from the curvy ass only inches in front of him, intent on them finishing their shower and getting to bed. Oh, he still had every intention of making love to his wife tonight, there was no way in hell that wasn't happening but he could wait until they made it to bed and be slow and gentle with her. But Brennan instinctively understood that slow and easy wasn't what Booth needed from her tonight. He was coiled as tight as a spring with anger and tension, ready to snap at the least little provocation. And now that she understood what was going on with him, she could definitely give him provocative.

Stepping back, she trapped his soapy hands between their bodies as his erection pressed against the curve of her rear end. Booth shuddered as his hard cock nestled between the cheeks of her ass and she bent her knees slightly, sliding up and down against him. The need that he'd felt before to be inside her was nothing compared to the wall of pure lust that hit him at her actions. He was instantly so hard he hurt and he only wanted to find some relief from the need, the desire, the anger, the tension and he knew he could find everything he needed in his wife's arms. His hands quickly moved from her back to the curve of her hips, pulling her back against him so hard that she gasped.

Brennan's head fell back against Booth's shoulder and she moaned loudly as he repositioned himself so he was sliding between her thighs and against her warm folds once again. Turning her head, she caught his lips with hers, her tongue instantly plunging into his mouth, swirling against his and enticing it to follow as hers withdrew. One of his hands was back on her breasts, squeezing and pinching her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. The other glided back between her legs and picked up his previous rhythm of stroking her clit as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"Slow down, Baby," he urged, just before he took over the kiss and his tongue plunged into her mouth. Her lips closed around it just as she bent her knees and tilted her pelvis. His breath hissed through his teeth as he slipped a few inches inside her tight channel on the next thrust of his hips. Instantly stilling, he tightened his arms to stop her erotic movements and tore his mouth from hers to give her fair warning while he still could. "I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into, Bones," he warned, his voice a low, husky growl.

"More, Booth. Please, Booth," she whispered throatily, meeting his eyes over her shoulder and that glimpse those limpid pools of blue dilated and glazed with desire was all the encouragement he needed. He wanted to turn her around, pick her up and make love to her hard and fast against the wall of the shower but that would be extremely uncomfortable for her with her back injury. Luckily, there were more options available.

Hands already moving he shuffled her to the side a little more roughly than he had intended without losing their intimate contact, lifted her right leg onto the shallow ledge on the inside of the shower wall. He entered her with one smooth thrust, again a little more roughly than he had intended, then stilled when she cried out, afraid he had hurt her. But it wasn't pain she was feeling, he realized as her hips jerked back against his and he, incredibly, felt her walls begin to flutter around him. Pushing even higher inside her, his finger quickly found her clit and began to stroke as he almost totally withdrew and drove back into tight, wet warmth. Moaning his name, her walls began to clench rhythmically around his aching flesh and he lost it, plunging into her depths over and over, his thrusts getting harder, more desperate and out of control. _God, he couldn't get enough, deep enough, hard enough, just enough. He didn't just want to be inside her, he wanted to be a part of her, just as she was so much a part of him._

Pulling her around for a soul shattering kiss, he looked into her eyes and saw exactly what he needed to see and it really sent him over the edge. She got it. They were two halves of the same whole and they couldn't survive without each other. His thrusts became even rougher and almost frantic as he strove for the relief he so desperately needed but he never stopped stroking and caressing her, even in his quest for his own satisfaction. And he was rewarded for that care just as he felt his thighs tighten and shivers flutter down his spine. She came around him again, screaming his name this time, and he was right there with her, pushing in hard and deep and holding her tightly as she milked him dry.

Booth didn't know how much later it was that he was able to straighten from leaning against the shower wall for support, Brennan supported by his arms and body. He was a little shocked at his earlier lack of control with her but she didn't seem to be complaining and he felt much, much better.

"Are you ok, Baby?" he asked, gently tipping her face up and saw her eyes were closed and she was almost asleep standing up. Past time for bed for her, he decided. "Bones, I need you to wake up enough to rinse off." He smiled when she shook her head and snuggled closer to his warmth, her arms tightening around his waist. Walking her backward, he noticed they still had hot water and quickly rinsed off her back, pulling her out of the shower, wrapping her in a towel and sitting her on the toilet with a hurried order to give him just a second. Jumping back in the shower, he was soaped, rinsed and out in less than 4 minutes. Some of the habits you picked up in the military could come in handy for the rest of your life.

Stopping in his tracks as he exited the shower, he felt the breath catch in his throat at how beautiful she was. She had laid her head down on her folded hands on the counter and was fast asleep. She looked fresh, young, innocent and completely incapable of being the bossy pain in the ass that he had met so long ago. But he knew she hadn't lost any of the abilities she had possessed when they had first met, she just didn't need to use them as much anymore. They had both changed and adapted to the other and that's what they would continue to do.

They had to talk about this, it wouldn't do either of them any good to avoid the subject, and he could feel his temper sparking again just thinking about it. _But he was a big boy,_ he told himself, _he could and would control his temper and they would talk things out like calm, rational adults._ They would work through this, he knew without a doubt because that's what people who loved each other did and nobody could possibly love anyone more than he loved his wife or more than she loved him, he knew. But they could always fight, er talk this out in a calm, rational manner, later. Right now, the only thing he needed to do was to take his wife to bed.


	33. Chapter 33

**I hope you guys like the chapter. Musie is still a little out of sorts today. LOL. Please remember to review. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth quickly toweled himself dry then gently dried off his sleeping wife, trying not to wake her. As he was patting her hair dry, he looked down to see sleepy, blue eyes slitted open and looking at him. By the time he had most of the moisture blotted from her hair, her lashes were once again on her cheeks and she was sound asleep. With a tender smile, Booth picked her up, barely feeling the twinge in his injured arm, and carried her to bed. Not bothering with pajamas, he discarded their towels and slid her onto the soft mattress, his grin widening at her sigh and climbed in beside her. Wrapping her tightly in his arms, her back resting against his chest, he couldn't hold back the grin as she snuggled closer and relaxed back into sleep. For someone who spent as much time in third world countries as she did, his wife was surprisingly fond of her creature comforts and a comfortable bed was on the top of her list.

Booth closed his eyes, hoping sleep would be quick in coming, but they popped open again immediately as the scene where Brennan was shot played out behind his closed lids in slow motion. Damn, he had been afraid of that. His arms instinctively tightened protectively around her and she groaned in pain and tried to wiggle away. Booth grimaced, forcing himself to loosen his hold.

"I'm sorry, Baby, I didn't mean to hurt you," he whispered, dropping a kiss on her bare shoulder. She grunted and relaxed back against him in exhaustion. He was exhausted, too, but every time he closed his eyes over the next two hours, he saw the same thing over and over again, his anger and agitation steadily increasing with each glimpse of that horrific event. Damn, he knew he wasn't going to sleep for a while and his restlessness was starting to disturb Brennan. Not wanting to let go of her but wanting to keep her from resting even less, he finally slid quietly from the bed, and walked over to the window. Bracing a flat palm on the side of the window frame, he stood and stared sightlessly out into the dark night.

_What the hell was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just be happy she was ok and let the rest of it go?_ He was ecstatic that she was relatively uninjured and he had no idea where the anger was coming from but there seemed to be a hell of a lot of it. _That's not entirely true_, his conscience broke in_, you do know where the anger is coming from. _Ok, fine, he knew where at least part of the anger was coming from. _She had tried to leave him_. She had walked away from him knowing she probably wouldn't survive the little jaunt and she hadn't even bothered to mention it to him and that pissed him off. She had risked her life by deliberately placing herself in the path of and taunting a psychotic mass murderer who wanted her dead in the worst way and that really pissed him off. _She had tried to leave him and that broke his heart_.

He could guess at her rational, logical reasons for doing what she had done but he couldn't seem to get past the fact that she had tried to leave him alone, to live the rest of his life without her in it and that was unacceptable. He didn't really care about the rest of his life if she wasn't in it. He loved his son and would never, ever desert him but Brennan had become the reason he got out of bed in the morning, his bright ray of sunshine of a gray, rainy day, his reason for being. She was the other half of him and he didn't think he would survive the pain if something actually happened to her. Scratch that, he knew he would never survive if she was taken from him, today had taught him that if nothing else. _So how could she just so nonchalantly walk away expecting to die and leave him to carry on without her? How could she not know that would kill him just as surely as and a lot more painfully than a well placed bullet? _

Damn, he didn't know what to think at the moment. He had never doubted their love for each other and that wasn't in question now. His only question at the moment was how were they supposed to deal with this? Just sit down and talk this out? That didn't sound like such a great idea at the moment. He had no doubt they would figure it out eventually but he would prefer it be before harsh words and hurt feelings were inflicted on one by the other. He knew he was going to have to deal with this entire situation but, at the moment, he had no idea where to start. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he was seriously considering calling Sweets in the morning for some advice on the least damaging to their relationship way to handle this when his attention was caught by a groan of pain coming from the bed. Striding across the room, he saw that Brennan had subconsciously noticed his absence and had rolled onto her back searching for him, groaning when her left arm instinctively tried to lift too high to feel for him. Her eyes were still closed and he didn't even think she was awake but she whimpered and tried to turn off of her back. Unfortunately she rolled on her left side before he could stop her and her eyes popped open with a hiss of pain.

"Booth?" she queried in confusion at finding him standing beside the bed.

"I'm here, Baby," he said softly, sitting down beside her and gently helping her to roll to her right side. "Is your back hurting?" He smoothed the hair back from her face and he could tell she didn't want to answer him, mostly because she didn't want to upset him but that, in itself, gave him his answer. Grabbing the pill bottles off the nightstand, he flipped open the lids and shook out the prescribed dosage. "Here, Bones, take your medicine. It will make you feel better," he encouraged, handing her the pills and a bottle of water. He knew she was in quite a bit of pain when she docilely took the items from him and swallowed the pills, barely lifting her head from the pillow with a wince to do so.

"How long have you been up?" she asked quietly, linking her fingers with the ones that had come to rest on her hip. He met her gaze calmly but she could feel the tension radiating off of him.

"I don't know. I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to disturb you," he answered, smoothing her hair back from her face.

"Why don't you come back to bed and give it another try?" He couldn't say no to the pleading in those eyes. He hadn't been able to do that for years and tonight was no exception.

"Sure, Baby," he gave he a soft smile and scooted in behind her, suddenly feeling extremely tired, very sleepy and at peace the instant his arms closed around her. And in that instant, he knew that they might have one hell of a fight to clear the air but everything would be all right because they would make sure it was. The bottom line was they belonged together and they would each do whatever it took to make sure they stayed that way. A team. Together.

_Damn, it was hot_, Booth thought, slowly coming awake wondering where he was and why he was covered with a fine sheet of sweat. The answer to both was apparent before he even fully opened his eyes. He was in bed with his wife, lying on his back and she was kneeling between his spread thighs with one small hand wrapped around his straining erection.

"Bones, what are you doing?" Even in the dark, he could see the sultry smile, sparkling eyes and raised brow brought on by the question.

"I would have thought that would be self explanatory, Booth," she purred, bending to lap at the tip of his cock with that little pink tongue. Ok, Booth admitted it had been a stupid question but give him a break, the blood flow to his brain was somewhat limited at the moment.

"You shouldn't be doing that, Baby. You're hurt, remember?" he groaned as her mouth closed over his tip and he held his breath to see if she was going to slide that magic mouth down any further. God, he wanted her to but she had been in a lot of pain earlier and he wouldn't hurt her for anything, even to make love with her. To his silent disappointment, she swirled her tongue around the tip of his hard on several times then released him with a sigh. Then she just about blew his mind when she slithered up his body, taking great care that her lush breasts and pebbled nipples grazed his stomach and every centimeter of his chest. Straddling his hips with her thighs, she raised her torso enough that she could look into his face.

"No talking tonight, Booth. You can say yes, Bones and more, Bones and please, Baby but that's all," she repeated his earlier words back to him in such a sultry voice and with so much heat in her eyes that the knot of desire in Booth's gut tightened painfully. Not waiting for an answer, she bent her head and lapped at his lips with quick, playful swipes with the tip of her tongue but Booth was having none of that.

"More, Bones," he groaned against her mouth. His hand on the back of her head held it still while his tongue slid inside her mouth to taste her. Within seconds, the kiss had turned hot, hard and possessive on both of their parts. Booth's hand tightened on the back of her head and his kisses became greedy, almost desperate, when she lowered her hips onto his and his hard flesh came into contact with her hot, moist folds. He was, once again, hit with that almost overwhelming need to be inside her, to reaffirm that they were both still alive and well in the most basic way possible.

Moaning into his mouth, she rocked her hips against his ever hardening erection as their tongues dueled with demanding urgency. Groaning into her mouth, his hands went to her breasts and he stroked the soft skin covering the firm mounds almost reverently before zeroing in on her puckered nipples, stroking and twirling in the way that he knew made her crazy. The ache in Brennan's lower abdomen intensified to a throb that settled deep in her core as one of his hands slid down her abdomen, through auburn curls and glided across the hard nub of sensation he found already wet from her arousal. She whimpered against his mouth and her hips jerked against his hard length, earning her a growl and a hard thrust upward from him that almost unseated her. And suddenly taking him inside of her body, reassuring him that she was ok was the only thing in the world that mattered, nothing else was important. This, making the love of her life understand that no matter what she had done, she loved him, that she had done what she had because she had felt there wasn't another viable alternative and that she wanted to always be with him became the focus of her world.

Sliding her mouth away from his, despite his tightening hand on her head and his groaning protest, she lingeringly kissed her way across his jaw and nibbled on his earlobe. Swirling her tongue teasingly inside his ear, she began to move her hips against him in a circular pattern that coated his erection with her juices and hit her clit with every pass but never quite gave him the angle his thrusting hips needed for penetration. His hands moved to her hips and he insistently tried to change that but she laughed breathlessly in his ear just as her teeth closed on a spot below his ear that made him crazy. His entire body shuddered at the sensations bombarding him as his wife set about driving him out of his mind.

Her lips moved down his throat to the hard, defined muscles of his chest and her nails lightly grazed over the muscles followed closely by her mouth. Moaning around the hard, male nipple in her mouth, Brennan couldn't stop her nails from digging into Booth's pecs as the hand between her legs shifted and two fingers were firmly pushed into her tight sheath. Booth couldn't hold back the moan rumbling from his chest and his erection twitched in response as he felt her hot, wet flesh clench around his fingers and he wanted it to be his cock so badly that he couldn't even think anymore. Tangling a big hand in her hair, he dragged her head up.

"More, Bones," he demanded, his voice low and harsh with need. "Please, Baby," he pleaded, urging her face down to his, his lips insistently pushing hers apart and demanding she allow him entry.

Brennan had meant to make love to her husband so completely that he never, ever doubted her commitment to them but his words and aggressive manner turned her mind to mush and made her body his to command. She always found Booth devastatingly sexy but when he turned all caveman on her, it always set her on fire. And this was no exception. Opening her mouth and returning his aggressive kiss, she moaned as her hips rode his fingers. She knew what he wanted but she was so close to orgasm, she didn't know if she could stop and give it to him. Feeling the fluttering around his thrusting fingers, Booth understood her dilemma and smiled against her mouth, increasing the pace of his fingers and rubbing her clit firmly with his thumb. Within seconds, he felt her tension snap as her internal muscles clamped down so tightly on his fingers that he couldn't move them and moisture flooded over his hand. She bit down on his shoulder to muffle the shouting of his name, her body shuddering and shaking against him.

Booth's body ached to be inside his wife, to enter her tight sheath and find heaven with the same need he had felt earlier but he could feel tenderness for her overriding even that voracious hunger. Slowing the movement of his fingers, he encouraged her to ride out the orgasm then slowly withdrew his fingers from her body and wrapped his arms around her shuddering form, content to be her safe haven from the storm. Minutes later, she raised her head and met his eyes and, incredibly, he felt a lot of the anger he had been harboring just magically melt away. Yes, he was still upset but he could see everything she was trying to tell him with her body in those expressive eyes and, despite his raging erection, he would be satisfied to just lie here and hold her the rest of the night.

But Brennan had other ideas, her huger slightly appeased but nowhere near satisfied yet. In all honesty, she didn't think her hunger for this man would ever be satisfied except in short spurts, making it possible for them to spend at least some of their time out of bed. She could feel the tip of Booth's erection pressing against the entrance to her body but he was doing nothing about it. With a moan and a wicked grin, she rolled her hips and took him inside. With a hiss, Booth's hips lifted and his hands went to her hips, pulling her down hard. He tried to loosen his hold but found it impossible to concentrate on anything except the feel of her hot flesh closing tightly around his almost painful hard on, the repressed need slamming into him like a tidal wave.

"More, Bones," he gasped gutturally as his eager hands helped her hips rise and fall. Despite her wetness, her snug sheath drug at his sensitive flesh with every thrust and he shuddered each time she lowered herself back onto him. Brennan braced her hands against Booth's chest and increased her speed, feeling her own pulse leap as the flame in her lower belly, once again, burst into a raging inferno that shot straight to her core. The feel of him moving inside her made her hot and wet but the look on his face as she rode him made her heart and stomach clench. No one had ever looked at her with so much desire, so much love so openly on display and she didn't want anyone else to look at her like that. Ever. She only wanted Booth. Instinctively , she knew she had the power to bring this man to his knees, to destroy him, and that knowledge just made her want to keep him safe. She didn't want him on his knees, she didn't want him walking in front of her to protect her from life and she didn't want him walking behind her, subservient in any way. She wanted him by her side, her husband, lover, best friend, partner and, if they were lucky, the father of their children, someday. She just didn't know how to tell him that with words. So, she used her body.

"I love you, Mr. Seeley Booth," she whispered in his ear, nipping his earlobe and moving on to his mouth. She saw his eyes dilate and felt him swell and lengthen inside her and knew he was close, he was just holding off on finding his own satisfaction, waiting for her.

"Come with me," he demanded against her lips. "Please, Baby. I love you, Mrs. Seeley Booth," he gasped, his body bowing under her as his hands gripped her hips and held her down hard enough to leave bruises. And Booth's world exploded as he emptied himself into his wife's warm, willing body just as her internal muscles clenched and drew him in even deeper. It was incredibly erotic and pleasurable but more than that he felt the tension, the anger, the doubts fade away from both of them as she collapsed against his chest.

"Booth," she murmured several minutes later as he stoked her hair.

"Hmm?" he looked down at where she still lay on his chest but she wasn't looking at him.

"Are we good?" she asked quietly and he didn't even have to think about the answer.

"Yeah, Baby, we're good," he answered firmly, tilting her chin up and kissing her gently. She gave him such a radiant smile that he felt like the sun had just come out from behind a cloud and smiled back at her. "We're always going to be good, Bones, no matter what," he assured her earnestly, looking directly into her eyes. She bit her lower lip but she nodded with a look of determination on her face that told Booth she trusted him instead of her logic on this one. Yawning sleepily, she slid off of him and turned onto her side, snuggling back against him, closing her eyes and drifting off almost instantly.

Slipping an arm around her waist, Booth closed his eyes, half way expecting the awful images from earlier to be waiting to ambush him but the only thing he saw was his wife's face looking at him so trustingly. And he felt a little guilty about that. He had told her the absolute truth. They were good and nothing would ever change about that. Nothing could ever make him willingly give up this woman after searching for her his entire life. And while their sex lives were fantastic, it would be easier to give that up than this closeness, this feeling of being complete when she was with him, this knowing that they belonged to each other in a way that neither had ever shared with anyone else. He could not, would not, give those things up.

It had only hit him when he closed his eyes that he and Brennan's understanding of them being good could be quite different. He had the sinking feeling that she thought it was settled and his thoughts were running more along the lines of a loud discussion or two. Well, he could always figure that one out in the morning, he assured himself. They had the rest of their lives to work it out because wherever she went, he would be right behind her. He was never letting her out of his sight again.


	34. Chapter 34

**Sorry, guys, I thought I had already posted this one. Enjoy. Please don't forget to review. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth started awake when he realized Brennan was no longer in his arms. Jerking upright in the bed, his panicked eyes frantically searched the room but saw no sign of her. He was out of bed and halfway to the door, completely naked, his only thought to find her and stop this blind fear clawing at his gut when he registered the sound of the shower coming from the bathroom. Oh, thank God, he thought, stopping in his tracks and almost trembling with relief that she was safe. Turning, he strode toward the bathroom to see for himself that she was in there and by the time his hand reached out to push the door open, he was absolutely livid that she had scared him like that. He wanted to storm into the room and yell at her for…. well, he really didn't know what the hell for but he definitely wanted to yell. Unfortunately, he didn't think yelling at her for daring to go to the bathroom without his knowledge or not waking him and telling him she was going to take a shower would go over all that well with the independent anthropologist. A grimace crossed his face as he pictured the fallout from doing just that. _Nope, that was out because it would definitely not be pretty._

_Shit. What the hell was he going to do?_ he wondered, crossing back to the bed and dropping down to sit on it. He had thought he had this under control but if his reaction to her going to the bathroom was any indication, his control sucked. He knew he wasn't mad about her going to the bathroom, his panic and fear from yesterday had just boiled over. _Damn, he had to figure this out and fast_ because if he didn't, he was going to blow up at her over something inconsequential and it wasn't going to be him letting off a little steam or getting something off of his chest. It was going to a full blown nuclear meltdown, ugly and potentially fatal for anyone in the general vicinity. He knew himself well enough to know that when he was that angry, he tended to say things he didn't really mean. Oh, he could usually apologize and make up with whoever he had offended, if he cared enough to make the effort. But, with Brennan, you couldn't say something in anger and just take it back later and he was not willing to hurt even her feelings, much less cause damage to their relationship with a temper tantrum, no matter how justified it might be.

His head snapped up as the bathroom door clicked open and his eyes locked onto Brennan as she walked toward him, dressed only in a towel, her damp hair slicked back from her face. She walked over to him and stepped between his spread thighs, laying her hands on his shoulders and his hands automatically went to her waist. He wasn't at all surprised when his bubbling emotions instantly calmed at her touch. He was even less surprised when his body responded to her nearness and his hands actually itched to peel her out of that towel and drag her back to bed.

"Good morning," she smiled, bending down to give him a long, lingering kiss which he enthusiastically returned.

"Good morning," he returned when they finally came up for air. "Come back to bed," he suggested with a sexy smile as his hands moved down over her hips, to the bottom of the towel and began to wander upward underneath it.

"Booth, we really should get dressed and go get some breakfast," she gasped as he nuzzled the towel aside and began to lay kisses along her abdomen.

"Not hungry," Booth returned, his tongue darting out for a quick foray into her belly button. Neither was she, not anymore, not for food, anyway. Her moans and hands clutching his hair to guide his mouth to where she wanted it told him what she was hungry for. Pulling her towel away and dropping it on the floor, he pulled her down to the bed and gave her exactly what they both wanted.

Several hours later, Booth lay on his back with Brennan's head on his chest, one hand playing with her hair while the other lay on his chest, intertwined with hers. Brennan had been dozing but he was thinking too hard about how to deal with their current situation to even doze, despite the fact that she had worn him out completely with this last round of lovemaking. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to just keep her in bed for the next 50 years or so or until he forgot about his anger, whichever came first but, as much as he loved the idea, it just wasn't an option. Neither was just letting it go. His reaction to her not being where he could see her when he woke up told him that. It had also shown him that if he tried to bury his upset, it would definitely cause problems between them and soon. This left one thing. Talk it out. Despite the fact that he believed he and Brennan could talk about anything and that good communication was an important part of any relationship, his gut knotted in dread at where that talk could lead. He would just have to control his temper and make sure they had a calm, rational discussion that did not get out of hand. _He could do that,_ he reassured himself just as Brennan stirred against him and her stomach growled loudly.

"Hungry, Baby?" he laughed, dropping a kiss on her head.

"Starving," she confessed, looking up at him with sleepy, blue eyes. "Aren't you hungry, Booth?"

"A little bit," he admitted. Yeah, he was hungry but he wasn't sure he could eat right now with all the knots of dread in his stomach, but he could make sure she got fed. That was, after all, part of his job. Brennan slipped out of the bed and walked over to the closet to select some clothes and Booth immediately felt the need to be within touching distance of her, even though he could plainly see that she was fine and he knew he couldn't put the talk off any longer. But he did lay there and enjoy the show as she pulled on underwear followed by jeans that fit her rear end like a glove and a casual blue, pullover top. Walking back to the bed, she tossed a bundle of clothing at him. Deftly catching them midair, he arched a brow in question.

"Booth, I really don't think it would be appropriate for you to go downstairs without being properly attired," she said in exasperation, turning to go to the bathroom. Sitting up and catching her hand, he gently swung her back toward him.

"I thought we could call down and have them send something up," he told her somberly, playing with the fingers of the hand he held but looking into her eyes.

"Why?" she questioned quietly, stiffening a little at the seriousness in his eyes.

"We need to talk, Baby," he sighed. She looked at him for several seconds before nodding and moving to the phone to call down for lunch. Replacing the receiver in its cradle, she turned back to him.

"They said it would take about twenty minutes. What do you want to talk about, Booth?" she already knew the answer but she was hoping she was wrong. She hadn't honestly thought he was done with chastising her for her actions but she had hoped he was because she was so afraid that they were going to say some ugly, hurtful things to each other and he had already been hurt enough by her actions. She didn't want to ever cause him pain, physical or emotional. She was also terrified that he was going to demand an apology for what she had done and she knew that in good conscience, she couldn't give him one and she wouldn't lie to him. _What if never forgave her without one?_ Well, she could control her mouth and that would take care of the first concern about ugly words being exchanged but she had no idea what to do about the second.

"Hey," Booth said, suddenly standing in front of her and cupping her face in his warm hands. "I'm going to take a shower then we'll eat." His thumb gently tugged her lower lip from between her teeth before she bit it hard enough to make it bleed. "Then we'll talk. Ok?" She nodded but he saw the trepidation in her eyes and bent to kiss her tenderly. "I love you, Bones and nothing is ever going to change that. This is all going to be ok, Baby." Her hands came up to cover his and press them against her face as she slowly nodded. Pulling her into a tight hug, Booth simply held her for several minutes, praying that he was right and this was, indeed, going to be ok. Brennan held him just as tightly and prayed for the same thing to a God she didn't even believe in because, with something this important, she was willing to take all the help she could get.

Brennan only managed a few bites of lunch before she could no longer swallow past the lump of fear in her throat. Diligently pushing the food around on her plate so that it would appear she had eaten more than she actually had and Booth wouldn't be concerned that she was not eating enough, she covertly studied her husband. She and Booth had had many, many loud debates, many disagreements and even a few real fights in the past. She had seen a range of emotions from him from ecstatic happiness to almost murderous rage and everything in between but she had never seen him quite like this and that scared the crap out of her. She knew him well enough to have some idea of how to deal with the different emotions that she had actually seen him express. But she had no idea how to deal with the taciturn man sitting across from her who wasn't eating anymore than she was. He was eyeing her with the same anxiety that she was certain was displayed on her face and suddenly she couldn't take it anymore.

"Booth, I...," she began.

"Brennan, I…," he said simultaneously, relieving a little of the tension.

"You go first," they both said in perfect synchronicity and they both began to laugh. It had more than a touch of nervousness in it but it was still laughter and they both began to relax. With a sigh, Brennan put down her fork and pushed her plate aside. Booth did the same and gestured gallantly that she had the floor.

"Booth, I know that you're angry and hurt," she began, reaching out and placing one of her hands over one of his on the table, "but I don't know what to do about that. The only thing I know to do is to tell you that I'm sorry to be the source of your pain," she told him earnestly, squeezing his hand, looking at him almost pleadingly. He nodded to acknowledge the apology, noting she hadn't apologized for her actions, only for causing him pain. But he wasn't going to dwell on that at the moment, he had a lot of questions and they would most certainly be coming back to that issue later.

"Why, Bones?" He asked quietly, the anger in his voice clear even to him and Brennan flinched as if he had just yelled at her. She was afraid that nothing she said would appease him and it certainly wouldn't convince him that she had done the right thing but he deserved an answer. And she had known there would be some type of consequences when she had made her choice. Now it was time to face up to them.

"I was reasonably certain that, if given a choice, Perez would pursue me rather than attack our camp. At the very least, he would have split his forces and that would have given you, Nathaniel and the others a much better chance at survival. Brennan could give him nothing less than the truth but she could see by the tightening of his jaw and the way the hand under hers formed a fist that he didn't much care for her version of the truth.

"We would have held out until reinforcements got there," he told her firmly.

"There were no reinforcements coming, Booth. Not in time, anyway. I heard you and Nathaniel acknowledging that to each other as we were taking off," she reminded him.

"We could have held them off," he insisted stubbornly.

"How, Booth?" She asked incredulously, her look clearly telling him that he was delusional if he actually believed that. "You were outnumbered more than 5 to 1. Perez's forces had weaponry comparable to ours and were easily big enough to surround our camp for a coordinated attack. Everyone in that camp would have died yesterday, Booth, including you and I couldn't let that happen." By the time she finished, her voice was shaking with suppressed emotions but Booth could see by the resolve on her face that didn't regret her actions and she would do exactly the same thing again, if necessary, and that lit the fuse to his temper.

"We would have figured something out, Bones," he gritted through clenched teeth, firmly telling himself to hold onto his temper. "But you didn't even give us the chance to come up with something else. You simply decided to set yourself up as bait and then you took off with your good buddy Alex." Too agitated to sit still, Booth rose from his chair, unintentionally jerking his hand out from under Brennan's on the table. Walking to the window, he failed to notice how Brennan paled and how hurt she looked by his action. Then his words registered and her spine stiffened. She was prepared to face the consequences of her actions but he was making it sound as if she and Alex had been out on a joyride specifically to upset him, not that they had been attempting to save lives. Reminding herself that he had every right to be angry, she tamped down her temper and continued to try to reason with him.

"We were out of time, Booth, and you know it," she insisted. He stalked over to the window and braced a hand against the frame, gazing outside. But the only thing he saw was his wife running by his side toward the helicopter and then falling as Perez's bullet hit her in the back. Pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, he desperately tried to hold onto his temper.

"You should have come to me, Bones," he finally said quietly.

"And what would you have done if I had come to you with my plan, Booth?" She asked quietly, already knowing the answer but hoping that if Booth answered the question aloud, he could start to understand why she hadn't gone to him. Wrapping her arms around her waist for comfort and fighting back tears, she awaited his answer but none was forthcoming so she answered the question herself. "I couldn't come to you, Booth. Don't you see that? If I had told you my plan, you would have used whatever means were necessary to remove me from the situation...," she was cut off as Booth swung around to face her.

"_Hell yes_!" He roared, fury evident in every line of his rigid body. "I would have tied you up and put you on that chopper with armed guards if I'd had any idea of what you were up to." He stalked toward her and stopped directly in front of her chair. Leaning over, he braced both hands on the chairs arms and continued to lean down until they were nose to nose. Brennan's eyes widened but she held her ground. Even though she had never seen Booth this angry before and he was doing his level best to be intimidating, she wasn't afraid of him because she knew he would never hurt her. Firmly telling herself that one of them had to remain calm and it obviously wasn't going to be Booth, she simply blinked and waited for him to continue. "You're my wife, Bones. It's my job, my responsibility, to make sure that you're safe and I couldn't do that because you lied to me," his teeth were clenched so hard his lips barely moved as the words hissed out. _Damn_, Booth silently cursed with a wince, _he hadn't meant to say that but it was the truth, as he saw it and he wasn't going to take it back._

Brennan felt herself softening at Booth's words, until the last few sank in and she gasped in outrage, her temper snapping free before she could stop it. She didn't even realize she was moving until her hands landed flat on Booth's chest hard enough to push him back a few steps. Then she was on her feet, standing toe to toe with her furious husband, just as angry as he was.

_"I DID NOT LIE TO YOU!"_ She yelled into his surprised face.

"What the hell would you call it then?" He demanded just as loudly. "You knew that I thought you were going to let Alex take you somewhere safe. And you let me believe that knowing you had no intention of following through." Running an agitated hand through his hair, he tried to get his anger under control and soften the accusation in his voice. "So, please, explain to me how that's not lying, Bones." He did manage to make his voice come out softer and calmer but he could tell that she didn't much care for the question.

"I will admit that I might have misled you with that promise," she offered honestly, ruthlessly reigning in her temper. "Booth, I couldn't just fly off to safety and leave people I love there to die. I couldn't leave _you _there to die and not try to stop it." Her voice and eyes were pleading and her hand came to rest on his forearm, squeezing softly but his rigid stance did not soften one iota. She tried to tell herself that he deserved the chance to air his grievances but she could see that he was not really listening to a word she said. She felt like she was wasting her breath and her temper began to bubble closer to the surface. Well, she wasn't the only one who had done something that could be interpreted as wrong here. "I might have misled you, Booth, but you and Nathaniel deliberately lied to me." She reminded him.

"That was different," he insisted, "it was for your own good." Booth winced the moment the words left his mouth, knowing it was the wrong thing to say even before her eyes began to glow with anger. Her hand fell away from his arm and she stepped back, her hands fisting at her sides.

"So it's okay for you lie to me if you decide it's for my own good?" She asked, her voice so low that he had to strain to hear it, a sure sign that she was about to blow.

"I didn't mean it like that," he sighed quietly, her rising temper, oddly enough, calming him somewhat. Taking a step closer, he placed both hands on her shoulders, encouraged when she didn't jerk away. "We did that so you would go with Alex and not worry. I needed you to be safe, baby. I needed to know that you would be okay no matter what," he tried to pull her into his arms but she twisted away, lifting a tear streaked face and looking at him with so much anguish that his heart clenched in sympathy.

"Okay?" She asked incredulously. "You thought that sending me to safety while you died would assure that I was ok?" Suddenly she started laughing hysterically and bent over, grabbing her stomach with her arms. Concerned, Booth went to her and placed a hand on her shoulder only to have her sharply slap it away and spin away from him. Cautiously approaching her again, he was surprised when the laughter suddenly stopped. She straightened, wiped the tears from her face and turned to face him with quiet dignity. "I don't know what you want me to say, Booth. I couldn't walk away and leave you there to die, not when I had a chance of stopping it. I did what I had to do. I told you that I'm sorry for causing you pain and I meant it but I won't beg your forgiveness for something I would do again if I had to." Brennan met his eyes levelly and Booth's heart cracked at the sadness and pain he saw in her eyes.

He wanted to gather her into his arms, hold her tightly to soothe away that pain and never let her go. At the same time, her blatantly telling him that she would knowingly put herself in danger again and again sparked his temper and made him want to shake some sense into her. _God, he was so consumed by his emotions that he had no idea how this had gotten so out of control or how to fix it,_ he realized, raking a frustrated hand through his hair. But he had to try. His gut told him that leaving things here would be a huge mistake and they needed to get everything out into the open while they were having this discussion. And he still had several things to get off his chest but he would be more careful how he phrased things and hold onto his temper, he promised himself resolutely.

"Okay, Bones, I'll admit that things looked bad and I even understand that you didn't approach me because you knew that I would stop you. What I'm having trouble with here is understanding how you could deliberately put yourself in that kind of danger in the first place." Despite his best intentions, Booth could feel his anger rising to the surface and hear it in his voice but he was on a roll now and, it seemed, he couldn't stop. "You got on that chopper with Alex expecting to die, Bones. How could you just walk away like that?" Booth desperately tried to hold back the real question that he needed the answer for until he was calmer, but it burst from his throat in an anguished roar, "_How could you try to leave me like that?"_

Brennan looked at her husband's face and her heart split right down the middle. She could clearly see the pain, anguish, fear and rage that he was feeling at the moment and she regretted to the very depths of her soul that she had been the cause of any of these feelings. But she had caused them and there was nothing she could do to change that. She badly wanted to just tell him whatever he needed to hear to take away the feelings that were obviously tearing him apart. She even opened her mouth and tried, but found that she couldn't lie to him, not even to make him feel better. She was terrified that Booth would never forgive her and that she had already ruined their marriage beyond repair but even that couldn't force her to lie to her husband. _What kind of marriage would they even have if they started lying to each other?_ No, she couldn't lie to him, but she could set him straight about something.

"I wasn't trying to leave you, Booth. I was trying to _save_ you," she forced the words out past the lump of tears lodged in her throat. Booth actually snorted and Brennan stiffened.

"You thought that saving me while you ran off and got yourself killed would be acceptable?" He demanded incredulously, his temper flaring into a raging inferno that was completely beyond his control.

Brennan looked into her husband's furious eyes and instinctively knew that she needed to leave the room before one of them said something so damaging to the other that they would never be forgiven. Silently skirting his rigid form, she tried to do just that but just as her hand landed on the doorknob, his hand loudly slapped against the door above her head to keep it closed.

"No," he growled against her ear, crowding her against the door, "we're not done here, Bones." Booth knew that he should let her go and give them both some time to cool down but he just couldn't make himself do it. The only thought running through his mind was that here she was trying to leave him yet again.

Brennan could feel the tension radiating from every inch of Booth's body as he pressed her firmly against the door and she knew that he was perched precariously on the edge of losing control. Not willing to escalate the situation, she leaned her forehead against the door and let him have his way.

"How could you even consider just throwing us away? How could you think that I could or even would want to have a life without you in it?" Brennan managed to stifle her sobs at Booth's soft, insidious questions but she couldn't do anything about the tears falling freely down her face. She really wanted to answer him, but right now she just didn't have any more words. She had already used them all up in an obviously useless attempt to explain her actions. An explanation that he either had no interest in and he had no intention of even trying to see things from her perspective or he was so fed up that he wasn't even going to try to forgive her and work this out. Either way, she just didn't have anything else to try to pacify him with at the moment.

Booth could hear a soft hitch in Brennan's breathing and knew she was crying and he hated himself for that. The hands on either side of her head, caging her against the door, clenched into fists as he fought the urge to grab her and pull her against him. But he knew exactly what would happen if he did that. His anger wasn't the only thing stimulated at the moment. His body was hot and hard, urging him to drag his wife back to bed where they could communicate on a much more basic level. Where they could find some relief from this awful tension arcing between them. Where they could hold each other and feel safe in the knowledge that everything was going to be okay. And as much as Booth wanted to do exactly that, he knew it wouldn't help matters in the long run. They needed to finish talking this thing out and he really only had one more thing to say.

"I need you to promise me that you will never, ever do anything like that again, Bones," he said quietly, resting his forehead on her shoulder and feeling the silent sobs shaking her body. Brennan opened her mouth and honestly tried to force the words out but her heart screamed in protest that it would be a lie and she just couldn't do it. Feeling Booth start to fidget against her back impatiently, she tried again and again, without success, to push out the words to make things right with this man whom she was willing to die for. _God, he was killing her_.

"_I can't_," she moaned piteously, her torment plain in her voice but Booth only heard the words and his anger immediately spiked, drowning out everything else.

"What do you mean you can't?" he demanded, his head jerking up. His hand grabbed her shoulder and he tried to turn her to face him but she resisted, holding onto the doorknob like a lifeline. _She didn't want to look at him?_ Fine, but she was sure as hell going to give him an explanation for that one.

"You can't, Bones, or you won't?" he demanded. Becoming impatient when she didn't immediately answer, he continued, "It's not that hard of a question, Bones. It has to be one or the other." Booth flinched at the sarcasm in his voice, especially when he heard a muffled sob escape Brennan._ Damn, what the hell was he doing? _He was tormenting her, that's what. Not intentionally, but still, he was causing her unnecessary emotional trauma because he was angry and that His body waswas simply unacceptable. He needed to get this over with now. "I need you to promise me this, Bones. I can't go through that again." His voice had lost the sarcasm and was quieter, calmer. He could feel his anger receding, now only feeling the need to try to make her understand. "I thought you were dead, baby." His hands left the door to rub softly up and down her arms. "I thought that I had lost you forever. Can you at least try to understand how I felt?"

_Was he freaking kidding her? _Brennan had time to wonder briefly just as she snapped and completely lost her cool. Her head jerked up so quickly that she almost head butted Booth but she didn't even notice and she certainly didn't care. Her tears were instantly gone and she was consumed with rage.

Booth was surprised when Brennan's head snapped up so suddenly. He was more surprised when she spun around in his arms and shoved him backward. He was shocked to see her eyes shining with rage that appeared to be directed squarely at him. And he was stunned speechless when she opened her mouth.

"I know _exactly_ how it felt, Booth!" She practically screamed at him. "You thought I was shot for all of 30 seconds. But I actually saw you shot right in front of me. I had your blood all over me and everyone told me you were dead, Booth. For every second of two freaking weeks, I lived with you being dead so don't you even think about using that to try and make me feel guilty." She was so agitated that she paused, gasping for breath and desperately trying to regain her shattered control.

Booth's eyes closed briefly as she paused for breath. _God, he couldn't believe he had forgotten about Pam Noonan. _He could plainly see from the agony in Brennan's eyes that she hadn't forgotten a second of it. And she was absolutely correct, he had only gotten a brief glimpse of the hell that she had gone through and it had been more than enough. He actually hadn't been trying to make her feel guilty. He had simply been trying to make her understand but he could clearly see that she understood all too well and it broke his heart that she still suffered like this over something he had done to her. And suddenly, he was the one to understand exactly why she had done what she had because he would have gladly given his life to save hers even before knowing what it felt like to think he had lost her. Having experienced that, he knew that he would do whatever it took, no matter how small the chance of success, to never feel that way again. Booth looked at his wife and saw that the rage and agitation had faded and been replaced by a haunting sadness that made him feel the need to wrap her up and protect her so that nothing could ever hurt her like that again. Then he saw the tears and he wanted to kick his own ass for making her cry. He wanted to drop to his knees, apologize profusely for his behavior and beg her forgiveness. He did none of those things.

"God, Baby, I'm sorry," he groaned against her ear as he pulled her tightly against his chest, burying his face in her hair. Brennan clutched handfuls of Booth's shirt as she sobbed against his neck, actually feeling a little better after dispelling some of the rage she apparently still had bottled inside over his faked death. He thought about how ironic it was that them loving each other enough to die for the other had just caused their biggest fight ever as his hands ran soothingly up and down her back. He whispered nonsense words of comfort into her ear until he felt her completely relax against him and knew the storm was over. It had been a bad one but they had managed to weather it. Oh, he had no doubt there were still some dark clouds on the horizon but nothing would ever be able to pull this woman from his arms. Not with as tightly as he planned on holding onto her.


	35. Chapter 35

**Sorry, guys, Musie can't seem to stop writing smut. Hope you enjoy. Please remember to review. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan was planning on doing some holding on of her own as her arms slid around Booth's waist. Her hands found their way under the hem of his shirt and spread out to sensuously stroke the strong muscles of his back. She heard his breath catch and felt him jerk against her with a satisfied smile as her nimble fingers found and stroked the spot just above the curve of his tight buttocks that drove him crazy. Her emotions were all over the place and she honestly didn't know what she was feeling at the moment, other than a strong desire to tempt Booth into stripping her down to her skin and taking her against the door. And she knew he wanted to, she had felt him pressing her to the door, unable to stop his hips shifting forward and rubbing his prominent erection against her buttocks. But it wasn't just the sexual gratification, the release of the tension that she wanted. She needed them to be that close to alleviate the sting of the words they had used against each other. She needed him to be inside of her because when he was, she knew, without a doubt, that everything would be fine, that they would overcome whatever life threw at them and she desperately needed that reassurance right now.

Booth felt Brennan smile against his throat as she stroked the spot on his back that always seemed to send lightning bolts straight to his cock and knew exactly what she was up to. And he was more than happy to give her what she wanted but he was definitely doing this one his way. He owed his wife a heartfelt apology and he couldn't think of a better one than showing her with his body how precious, how perfect, how wonderful he thought she was. He wanted to lay her down on the bed and worship every inch of her body, to slowly drive her out of her mind with desire, then to satisfy her, in every way imaginable, over and over again. He wanted her to feel loved, cherished, adored. But more than anything he wanted her to remember how it was between them and know that they could survive anything that came their way as long as they stood together. Brennan was a very tactile person and he knew that she would understand what he was trying to tell her more fully by making love than if he simply said the words.

With that thought in mind, Booth's hands gently smoothed over her back, one going to the curve of her ass and pulling her against his aching erection. He tried to tilt her chin up to kiss her gently and that's when he discovered that Brennan had a little something different in mind. With a husky laugh, she dislodged his hand from her chin and sank her teeth into his shoulder, not hard enough to break the skin or even to bruise but hard enough to sting a little and Booth couldn't stop the shudder that ran down his spine. _So, she wanted to get a little rough? God, why did she have to tempt him with that when he was determined to make love to her long and slow and sweet? To take hours stroking her body, to gently show her how much he loved her? _He didn't have the time or attention to speculate further when she pushed his t-shirt up and urged him to raise his arms. Catching a glimpse of her eyes, he was stunned by the need burning there and instantly knew he would be giving her whatever she wanted. The next time could be his way. She needed this one.

Peeling the t-shirt over his head and carelessly tossing it over his shoulder, he groaned as Brennan's hands landed back on his naked flesh and her nails scraped oh so slowly down his pecs and onto his tight abs. His gut clenched into a hard, tight knot and his already hard erection got impossibly harder. Her mouth returned to the spot she had bitten and she laved the spot with her tongue in apology then moved on to his neck, nibbling and sucking and turning him into a pile of mindless mush. And that was before he realized she had undone his belt and pants and her hand snaked into his boxers to grasp his cock, squeezing and stroking, quickly pushing him to the level of a mindless caveman with a bad case of lust and a warm, willing woman in his arms.

Booth growled low in his throat and reached for her, his hands a little rough and grasping as he jerked her against him and forced her head up to claim her lips with his. _Objective achieved._ Brennan smiled against his mouth for just a second then could do nothing but moan her approval as his tongue slipped into her mouth with absolute purpose, seeking and exploring every inch of its moist recesses. He was telling her that she belonged to him and she could only agree and open her mouth wider, tempting him to explore further. One hand fisted in her hair and he pulled her head back, deepening the kiss even further, his other hand going under her shirt and moving upward. His hand closed gently over her breast, his thumb skimming over the nipple and she arched against him, crying out.

Brennan shuddered and cried out as Booth's thumb and forefinger closed around her aching nipple and tugged sharply, sending sparks of desire darting downward to settle into a burning throb directly between her thighs. She was so hot and wet that she doubted she would be able to even hold out until he got inside of her. It was if her body was now channeling every bit of anger and pain she had felt earlier into arousal and the need it generated was almost overwhelming. _God, Angela had told her makeup sex after a huge fight was really, really good but if it was always like this, she was going to have to piss Booth off more often._ She lost that and all other thoughts in her mind as Booth jerked his mouth away from hers just long enough to pull her shirt over her head and toss it aside, closely followed by her bra. Jerking her back against him, he devoured her mouth, her breath coming in short pants. In seconds, her stiff nipples were rubbing firmly against his hard chest and she was urgently pushing his jeans and underwear down over his hips, desperate to find release.

Booth could feel her need, her urgency and it was feeding his own. Those little mewling whimpers of want coming out of her throat were making him crazy, his gut getting tighter and his erection harder with each sexy sound. His eyes closed involuntarily as she pushed his pants and underwear over his hips, freeing his erection and immediately gripped it tightly. _God, he had never seen her this out of control and he had to admit that he liked it. A lot._ So much, in fact, that he needed to be inside of her right now. He at least needed to get her hand off of his cock or she was going to be very disappointed in just a few minutes. Gently dislodging her hand, his hands went to the waistband of her jeans and Brennan blinked at how fast he had stripped her of her remaining clothing and returned to stand in front of her. Pulling her back against him, Booths hands went to her hips and he urged her against his hard length, both giving a shuddering moan at the contact. Brennan vaguely realized that he was backing her toward the bed and, an instant later, Booth found his back coming into hard contact with the door.

"Door. Now," she demanded, her mound rubbing against his erection and he couldn't have denied her if his life had depended on it. His hands went to her ass and he lifted, her legs wrapping around his waist and her arms around his neck as he reversed their positions so that her back was against the door, neither giving a thought to her injury. He was desperate to be inside her by now and his hand went between her legs to make sure she was ready for him. _God, was she ever ready_. She was so hot and slick that he couldn't resist slipping a finger inside her tight channel. Hissing at how eagerly her body clamped around that single digit, he could almost feel her closing around his penis and fought back the flutters running up and down his spine. "Now, Booth," she whimpered, riding his finger as she got tighter and wetter.

Booth withdrew his finger and guided himself to her entrance. Pinning her to the door with his chest, his other hand fisted in her hair. Pulling her head back so he could see her eyes, Booth pushed forward and watched her eyes dilate as she stiffened against him and bit her bottom lip to stifle the scream trying to escape. For one concerned second, Booth thought he had been too rough and had hurt her then he felt her inner walls clench him almost brutally and knowing that just being inside of her had made her come stripped the last of his control. He pulled almost out of that tempting haven and thrust back in fast and hard. She did scream this time and her nails dug into his shoulders as her back arched and her legs clamped around his waist like a vice.

Brennan's world consisted of the bliss radiating from where their bodies were joined. She had come as soon as he pushed inside her but this was no ordinary, run of the mill orgasm. As fantastic as even those were with Booth, this one seemed to be never ending, each hard thrust drawing out the more than pleasurable contractions and driving her toward something that beckoned her closer and closer. Something that she was almost afraid of and desperate to obtain at the same time. Wrapping her arms more tightly around Booth's neck, Brennan drew his head down, nipping and sucking at his lips until he moaned against her mouth and gave her his tongue like she wanted. And when her lips closed around his tongue and sucked hard, Booth completely lost his mind.

He drove into her hard and fast, completely out of control, the rhythmic contractions of her inner muscles dragging against his sensitive flesh and making every thrust almost unbearably pleasurable. He was on fire, certain he was actually going to burst into flames at any moment and he wanted to make certain Brennan was with him every step of the way. He knew she was just as out of control and as close to the beckoning ecstasy as he was and, God, he wanted to get there now. The shivers running down his spine were more powerful than anything he had ever felt, his scrotum almost painfully tight and his cock felt like it would explode, and not in a good way, if it got any harder. Shifting a hand between their bodies, he unerringly found her swollen clit and stroked it firmly then pinched it between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it lightly. Stroking his tongue into her mouth in cadence with his strokes into her body, he changed his angle of penetration slightly and Brennan went wild in his arms, bucking against him and screaming his name. She clenched around him again and that was it for him. His hips jerked against her as wave after exquisite wave of release washed over him and he groaned her name into her mouth.

Many, many minutes later, he realized he was sitting on the floor with his back against the door, cradling his shaking wife in his arms. Her head was on his shoulder and he was stroking her back with one hand and her hair with the other.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly. She nodded against his shoulder but he could feel a shiver run over her. "Are you sure?" he questioned and she raised her head at the concern in her voice to give him the smile of a woman well pleased with her man.

"I'm fine, Booth," she assured him breathlessly but he could see something was on her mind.

"What are you thinking about, Bones?" he asked with a sigh, hoping that she hadn't thought of something that was going to cause more friction.

"I don't like fighting with you, Booth." He was glad to hear that but his eyebrows lifted at the faint sigh of disappointment in her voice.

"Good to know. I don't like fighting with you either, Bones." He assured her, squeezing her tightly. She relaxed back against him with another sigh and began to absently rub a hand over his chest. He gazed down into her face and the little line between her eyebrows told him that she was trying to work something out in that big brain of hers.

"But I definitely liked what it led to." He waited but nothing more was forthcoming.

"Yeah, me too," he agreed, tilting her head up to look into her eyes. "Now why don't you tell me what's going on in here?" he tapped a finger lightly against her forehead and could have sworn that she blushed. But that just wasn't possible, nothing embarrassed his Bones. She shrugged.

"I was just positing scenarios to achieve the same results by means of less painful stimuli." It only took Booth a minute to interpret that one then he began to laugh, relieved that it was something so simple.

"Well, Baby, you _are_ a genius and I'm at your disposal so I guess we'll just have to experiment until we figure it out," he grinned and she gazed at him assessingly for several long moments. She nodded at him solemnly then began to smile such a sexy, siren smile that Booth felt himself stirring under her bottom.

"I think that is an outstanding idea, Booth," she agreed, wrapping her arms around his neck and raising her face for his descending lips. The moment his lips made contact, someone began pounding on their door, hard. Booth ignored it and kissed Brennan long and deep, not pulling back from her until they were both gasping for breath.

"Someone's at the door," she told him needlessly, as if she had just noticed.

"Yeah, I know." Dropping a kiss on her upturned lips, he didn't bother to even stand up. "What?" he asked loudly, his voice more than a little irritated. He didn't receive an answer and the pounding continued, unabated. He started to reluctantly move Brennan from his lap so he could get up and answer the damned door but her legs wouldn't support her yet.

"Who is it?" Her raised voice magically received an answer.

"Red, are you ok?"Booth stiffened at the concern in the voice. It actually sounded as if the young man on the other side of the door wasn't sure and he was less than happy with those implications.

"I'm fine, Garrett," she called back with a sigh, reluctantly rising from Booth's lap and quickly gathering her clothes, she tossed Booth's scattered articles of clothing toward him. "Get dressed," she told him with a sigh of resignation, quickly slipping into her underwear.

"Why?" Booth demanded, flabbergasted by her behavior and more than a little irritated with Garrett's continued knocking and his unvoiced suggestion that Booth might have hurt Brennan. "What do you want, Garrett?" Booth bellowed, allowing his irritation free reign.

"Open the door, Booth," ordered a different voice and Brennan closed her eyes, shaking her head in disgust. _Men and their protective instincts_. She had no doubt one of her boys had heard the loud discussion she and Booth had just had and they had automatically rushed to her rescue. She wasn't thrilled with their actions and she knew for sure that Booth wasn't going to appreciate it but they were here and now they had to be dealt with. Garrett might be content to stand there and knock until they opened the door but she knew Alex well enough to know it wouldn't be long before he resorted to stronger measures. She just didn't know what those stronger measures would be and she didn't want to find out.

"They won't go away until you open the door, Booth. Please get dressed," she pleaded. Now really, really irritated, he stood and jerked on his jeans, not bothering with the underwear.

"_What?"_ he roared, jerking the door open to find himself face to face with four soldiers who barely glanced at him. All four sets of eyes immediately darted around obviously searching for the room's other occupant. Brennan slid smoothly in front of Booth and gave the four men a back off look.

"I'm fine," she said softly, letting them see that for themselves. They all relaxed immediately when they saw she appeared to be unhurt, then they all began to look a little uncomfortable and Booth suddenly understood why they had questioned Brennan's safety. And he was absolutely incensed that any of the men in front of him could think for one second that he would harm his wife, no matter what they had heard outside the door. She felt him step up against her back and could feel the tension radiating off of him. She could feel the testosterone floating around her and wanted to roll her eyes but she didn't because she knew it was up to her to diffuse this potentially volatile situation.

"Did you need something, Alex?" Brennan questioned quietly before Booth could open his mouth and blast them with his anger. Brennan reached back and took his hand, squeezing it, silently asking him to just let it go. No way was he going to let it go and his eyes told the men that as he met their eyes individually. Garrett and Gavin glanced away, a little intimidated by Booth's hot stare and more than a little embarrassed by how badly they had misinterpreted what they heard when they approached the door. Alex and Garrett met his eyes levelly, both silently telling him they refused to apologize for looking out for Brennan's best interest. _Well, hell, how was he supposed to argue with that? _ That took some of the air out of his sails but he and Alex still had some unfinished business, Booth's stare reminded the other man. Alex nodded his understanding then turned to Brennan with a smile. Grant's lips twitched in amusement as Booth's arm slid around Brennan's waist and his hand spread possessively on her hip, clearly denoting ownership.

"We actually need you both downstairs to debrief in 30 minutes," Alex supplied smoothly and Brennan nodded.

"Was there something else?" she queried with a raised brow when Alex looked at Booth speculatively.

Alex could see that Booth was pissed and he had to admit the man had good reason to be upset. They had intruded into a very private, intimate time between the two but it hadn't been entirely their fault. They had all four been upstairs when the shouting in Booth and Brennan's room began and it had taken every bit of discipline Alex possessed not to march over there and tell Booth to just take a swing at him and leave Red alone, especially when he heard her tears. He hadn't heard her cry like that since the night Steven died and it ripped all of their hearts out to just stand by and do nothing when she was hurting like that. He had surprised even himself by telling the others, who were instantly on their feet to go to the rescue, to stay out of it. And they had until they had heard what had sounded like someone getting pushed around.

They had been shocked at the thought that Booth might physically hurt Brennan but instinct had taken over and they had raced to the rescue. By the time the four angry men had put together what had actually been happening on the other side of the door, Garrett had already been knocking and it was too late to retreat. Besides, they had been responsible for Brennan for so long that they needed to see with their own eyes that she was ok. Yeah, she was fine but Booth wasn't and Alex didn't want him to take the anger he could clearly see sparking in his eyes out on Brennan. He thought Booth was a better man than that but he wasn't taking any chances. He also knew that at least part of that anger was directed at him for helping Brennan with her plan and he was willing to give Booth a shot at him to relieve some of that stress.

At least he hoped Booth just took a swing at him and didn't want to talk about it because that would not go well. He was pretty certain that Booth would not be at all pacified when Alex admitted that he wasn't sorry he had done it and would do it again, without a second thought, if Red asked him to. _That just might be something he would keep to himself,_ he thought, but he wasn't going to lie about it. Nathaniel had told him how Brennan had demanded he not be punished for his actions, while yelling at him about what a stupid thing he had done, of course and that she had made Booth promise not to hit him. Alex could tell the FBI agent was regretting his promise at the moment and he couldn't really blame him. He deserved at least one punch but he instinctively knew Booth wouldn't break a promise to Brennan. Well, he could help with that, Alex thought with an inward smile.

"Yeah there is something else," he said, his eyes locking with Booths. "Red will be busy for a while and they have a big gym here, Booth. They even have a sparring ring. I just thought you might want to join us there while she's being debriefed."

"That's a great idea, Alex," Booth said smoothly. Brennan turned her head to glance at him and did a double take at the satisfied smile tugging at his lips. Her brow furrowed in confusion, her eyes darting between Booth and Alex. There was obviously an undercurrent to this conversation that she wasn't getting but Alex wasn't going to give her time to figure it out or she would most definitely put a stop to it.

"Chop, chop, Red," he said cheerfully, "don't want to keep them waiting." Brennan narrowed her eyes at Alex, knowing he was trying to pull one over on her, just not quite knowing what it was.

"Yeah, Baby, better hurry," urged Booth, his hands running up her arms to rest on her shoulders. Now, she knew they were both trying to get something past her and she didn't like it but she didn't have time to worry about it, either.

"Fine," she snapped a little irritably, giving the four men in front of her a very long _You had better behave yourselves or else_ look. They all looked back at her innocently and grinned and she knew she was beat. It would take her much longer to get information out of them than she had so she turned on Booth, who seemed to understand what was going on. But he pulled her into the room, shut the door, and bent to kiss her so long and deeply that she didn't have a thought in her head when he finally pulled back.

"Better get ready," he told her gently, turning her toward the bathroom and she gave up, deciding to figure it out later.

Twenty minutes later, after a very quick shower they left their room to find the four soldiers still waiting outside, apparently to escort them which was good because neither Booth or Brennan had any idea where they were going. They walked down the stairs silently but Booth's conscience was bothering him about the promise he had made to his wife. He knew, good and well, what Alex had been telling him about the gym and he couldn't believe Brennan hadn't picked up on it. The only reason she hadn't was because he had promised he wouldn't hit Alex and she trusted him not to break that promise, he knew, and it wasn't right for him to break that promise, but God, he really, really wanted to hit Alex. Not that he didn't like the other man. He really did like him, he was just too pissed to be reasonable about the fact that Alex had taken Brennan into the eye of the storm as it were. _But was him being pissed enough of a reason to break a promise to his wife?_ _No,_ he decided sadly, _it wasn't_. But she didn't object to the sparring when Alex mentioned it upstairs and if you were sparring and your hand slipped, well, you really couldn't help that, it would simply be an accident, his anger prodded. _That is true,_ he quickly decided, but he really should find out how she felt about sparring first. _Better to know how pissed she was likely to be going in._

"I'll see you in a while, Baby," he told her outside the door of the room where the bigwigs were waiting to debrief her, knowing he would have his turn later. Unable to resist, he bent and kissed her softly, his hands cupping her face. Reluctantly releasing her, he turned to go then turned back and asked as casually as possible. "By the way, how do you feel about your boys sparring?" Her eyes narrowed at the question but she shrugged.

"I think it improves their hand to hand combat skills, their physical endurance and their overall physical fitness," she supplied. "Why?" she asked somewhat suspiciously but Booth was saved from answering when the door behind them opened.

"Dr. Brennan," General Hood said pleasantly, "if you would like to come in, we can get started. Hello, Agent Booth." Hood greeted Booth pleasantly enough but his attention was focused on Brennan and Booth was glad for the interruption. Returning Hood's greeting, he innocently met his wife's narrow eyed gaze, relieved when General Hood politely but insistently ushered her into the room before she could start asking the questions shining in her eyes. She gave Booth a level stare that told him she knew he was up to something and she would figure it out. He had no doubt about that but it wasn't going to be right now. As soon as the door closed behind her, Booth turned back to Brennan's boys with a wide grin, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"So, Alex, lead the way and let's get this party started."


	36. Chapter 36

**Thanks to all who have taken the time to review. Musie assures me she knows what she is doing so please bear with me for a couple of chapters. And please remember to review, she is a little down in the dumps since Games ended and needs some cheering. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

"**So, Alex, lead the way and let's get this party started." He knew he was looking forward to a physical confrontation much more than he should be and he almost felt bad about that. Not bad enough not to do it but it bothered him a little. Brennan's reaction also worried him just a little but he didn't want to kick Alex's ass, he only intended to get in a couple of good licks, it should be over with quickly and she never had to know. **_**And even if she found out, how mad could she really be?**_

She was pissed as she stalked down to corridor toward the workout room, not so much about what she was afraid she would find as she was about how long it had taken her to figure things out. _Yeah, right_. Ok, fine, she was plenty pissed that after Booth and Alex had both given her their word that they wouldn't fight, they had used semantics and subterfuge to get around those promises. She understood that Booth felt the need to punish Alex for his part in her attempt to divert Perez and she knew that Alex would be willing to accept that punishment up to a certain point but then he would fight back and they could both get hurt. Besides, she had expected much better from both of them.

She was extremely pissed and, ok, a little embarrassed about how she had finally come to the realization of what was going on but, hey, she'd had a rough few days and let's just say she wasn't exactly at her best and leave it at that.

"Well, Dr. Brennan, we certainly appreciate your time," General Hood had told her smilingly just minutes before, after going over the last day of their mission in excruciating detail. "Now, we just need to get the others in here for a few more questions. Then you will be all done and we'll see about getting you all sent home," he offered, patting her hand in a fatherly manner. "Do you know where they went?"

Brennan wasn't paying much attention to the question_. Home, God, she wanted to be there more than she could have ever have imagined possible. _Home where, granted, people still shot at them but it usually wasn't with RPG's. Home where they didn't have to slog through the jungle to avoid capture and sure death, where they didn't have to wear Kevlar and hope that today wouldn't be their last. She couldn't wait to get back to her house of reason and her real life with Booth, where she could see and talk to her friends and hug Parker and do nothing more dangerous than chasing down killers. As hard as that sounded, it would be a walk in the park after this last couple of weeks.

"Dr. Brennan," prodded General Hood, "do you happen to know Agent Booth's and the other's destination?"

"Yes, they were going to the gym. They said something about sparring," she said, her thoughts still centered on how happy she would be to return home. Absently glancing at the general's face, she's taken aback by his wide eyed concern. "What?" She demanded.

"Dr. Brennan," began Hood rather uncomfortably, "it's not really my place to say anything but do you honestly think it's a good idea for your husband and Alex to have permission to hit each other?" Brennan didn't even blink at the question.

"Oh, they wouldn't do that," she protested only to be stopped by the general's raised brow and disbelieving expression.

Her mind began to whirl with possibilities and she felt like giving herself a well, Duh slap on the forehead. _Of course they would do that._ Alex had known exactly what he was doing when he mentioned the gym to Booth upstairs. He had been inviting Booth to express his anger by getting physical. And by not objecting when Booth had asked her how she felt about her boys sparring, they would, no doubt, feel that she had tacitly given them permission to do exactly that. She could not believe that she hadn't caught on to that right away but, dammit, didn't she have enough on her plate already without having to worry about Booth and Alex acting like juvenile delinquents and pounding on each other? Especially when they had both given her their word that would not happen?

Hood watched the emotions flitting across Brennan's face, fascinated. He had never seen her this easy to read before. He saw her eyes widen in speculation then narrow in suspicion. They then took on what he could only describe as an angry glow and her jaw clenched and she, apparently, came to some kind of conclusion. He wasn't left wondering what that conclusion was for long.

"Excuse me, General," she said through clenched teeth, rising quite calmly from her chair. "But I'm afraid that I suddenly have an urgent need to speak with my husband and Alex." She hadn't bothered to lower her voice and one of the three other men in the room spoke up helpfully.

"Dr. Brennan, you don't have to track those boys down," he assured her jovially. "We'll send one of the guards to bring them here." And he sat back in his chair as if the matter was settled. Brennan paid no attention to him whatsoever as she stalked toward the door. She did, however, take a second to answer before jerking open the door and stalking through. She left three men gaping after her, their mouths opening and closing like fish until finally three pairs of eyes settled on Hood.

"She didn't really mean that, did she?" They demanded in unison but Hood was laughing too hard to answer them. She most probably wouldn't do as she had threatened but he knew someone, or rather two someone's, were in for a bad time. And he was really hoping that the exercise room had decent surveillance equipment so that he could take a look at it later to see just how much grief she actually gave Booth and Alex. Actually, he thought, it might be better for her if the room didn't have proper surveillance because her exact words before leaving the room had been, "No, thank you. I would prefer not to have witnesses when I _murder _them!"

EARLIER IN THE HALLWAY LEADING TO THE EXERCISE ROOM

Booth followed Alex's lead toward the exercise room, ignoring the whispered conversation going on between the three men behind him. Minutes later, Garrett and Gavin jostled by Booth to sidle up to Alex, each grabbing an arm and encouraging him to walk faster. Grant quietly stepped up to Booth's side and deliberately slowed his steps, putting even more distance between Alex and Booth. Booth looked over at the younger man in amusement just waiting for him to speak and obligingly slowed his steps. While he was waiting on Grant to decide exactly what it was he wanted to say, Booth had no trouble overhearing the conversation going on in front of him.

"Red is _not_ going to like this, Alex," started off Gavin calmly. Garrett snorted at such a severe understatement.

"Red is going to be pissed," Garrett wanted the facts on the table. Alex looked between the twins and shook his head.

"She'll be fine," he said calmly. "She'll never even know," he insisted, hoping it was true because if she did find out, he had no doubt that she would be royally pissed, especially after she had made him promise not to fight with Booth. But he felt the other man deserved a little retribution and this wasn't really fighting, not like she had meant. Besides, he knew it would make Booth feel better and take some of the heat of the other man's anger off of Brennan and that's all that really mattered. He didn't want Brennan's relationship with her husband suffering because of something he had done. Hell, he was a little surprised that they all didn't want to take a shot at him.

Gavin and Garrett both snorted and rolled their eyes at each other at Alex's justification. They both knew why he was doing this but they also knew that Brennan _would_ find out, she always did, and that she would not be happy about it. In which case, it was a pretty sure bet that none of them would be happy and they were just trying to prevent any further upset.

"Alex, you should really rethink this one," Garrett encouraged. Gavin nodded his agreement. Alex looked back and forth between them and came to a halt with a sigh.

"Look, guys, I really appreciate the concern but I can't have Red paying the price for something I did. If she finds out and gets mad then so be it," he said firmly and started walking again. Booth came to a stop at his words.

"Is that what you people think? That I'm punishing my wife because I'm pissed off at Alex?" he demanded of Grant incredulously.

"No, I think that you had a fight with your wife because you were pissed off at her," returned Grant easily. "Then again, I'm the only other married man in the group and I can only imagine how pissed off I would have been if Gena had pulled something like that." Booth relaxed back against the wall at Grant's words, glad to get some validation and understanding of his feelings at long last but also knowing that the other man had a point to make.

"But?" he queried, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But I also know that there's no way you're not pissed off at Alex. How could you not be? He took Red into a very dangerous situation when you trusted him to take her to safety and make sure she stayed there." Booth could feel his temper rising and wished Grant would get to the point. "I would want to pound on him myself in your shoes," Grant assured Booth honestly. Booth nodded, so far he agreed with everything the other man had said.

"But?" he prompted again and Grant grinned.

"But my understanding is that you and Alex both promised Red that you wouldn't fight and…," Grant broke off at Booth's rolled eyes.

"This isn't fighting, Grant. It's _sparring_." Grant was the one to roll his eyes at the emphasis Booth placed on the last word.

"Uh huh and I'm certain that Red will immediately understand the difference and not be at all upset that you both appear to have broken a promise to her. After all, it's not as if she takes things _very_ literally." _Ouch, that actually smarted_. Sarcasm aside, Booth had to admit that the big man holding his eyes levelly had a point. Brennan was the most literal person he had ever known and, if she did find out about this, it was unlikely that she would be amused or easily swayed over to his way of looking at things. Feeling his level of frustration rise, Booth ran a hand through his hair.

"What, exactly, is your point, Grant?" He snapped.

"My point, Booth, is that I know you want to hit Alex badly but are those few moments of satisfaction really worth breaking a promise to your wife?" Grant snapped right back and Booth winced at both the tone and the words. "You're the only person who can decide if it's worth the possible consequences but you had better be damn sure it is before you start throwing punches. Because you won't have a choice about facing the consequences by then and lying to your wife isn't something you can just take back. I seriously doubt that Red will just be able to forget about it. My wife would make me pay in ways I don't even want to think about," Grant added with a shudder, "and, trust me, she's a babe in the woods compared to Red when it comes to making you pay." Despite the rising anger Booth felt as his opportunity to physically square things away with Alex receded into the realm of daydreams, he couldn't help but grin at Grant's slightly overdramatic presentation of Brennan's ability to exact revenge. Then again, maybe there was nothing overly dramatic about it. Booth had the feeling that she had led this group around by the nose for years and he had no doubt that, in that time, she had been unhappy with each and every one of them at some point. He didn't even want to know what she had done in retaliation if she had ever felt wronged by them.

With a sigh of resignation, Booth said goodbye to the fantasy of beating the crap out of Alex and admitted to himself that Grant was absolutely right. Brennan might understand why he had needed to do it, but she would probably still feel angry and betrayed and that he had broken a promise to her. No matter how badly he wanted to hit Alex, nothing was worth making her feel that way and putting additional strain on their relationship. _Damn it_, Booth silently fumed, _why the hell couldn't the twins have talked to him rather than the one person in the group who could, apparently, see the situation from all angles and give some damn good advice?_ No, he admitted to himself after a short internal temper tantrum, he was lucky that Grant had reminded him of what was really important here. Not that he was ready to say thank you just yet but he was grateful. Well, he would be grateful later, he assured himself. Right now, he was still pissed but he wasn't stupid and he could see that Grant was right and that the other man wasn't finished.

"Is there something else?" Booth asked sardonically with a lifted brow.

Grant could tell that Booth had come to some kind of decision and he wasn't all that happy about it but he didn't ask what that decision was. But he did have a lot more to say and Booth seemed to be in a listening mood so he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to give the other man what he saw as much needed advice. Oh, Grant liked and respected Booth, he liked a lot of things about him. He especially liked the fact that the FBI agent loved Brennan very much and would obviously give his life to protect her. The fact that he yelled at her and made her cry, however, he liked much, much less. But, as a married man himself, he knew that he had no right to interfere in whatever issues the couple was having but that didn't mean he couldn't offer some advice derived from his sometimes turbulent years of marriage. But first he owed the man an apology. With a sigh, Grant stuck his hands in his pocket and leaned against the wall beside Booth.

"I know that we had no right to interfere with you and Red earlier," Grant looked everywhere but at Booth uncomfortably as he remembered just what they had interrupted. Of course he knew Booth and Brennan had sex but it was like thinking about his little sister having sex and that was an image he just did not want in his head. "But," he continued hastily, "we just reacted instinctively. Not that any of us thought for a second that you would actually hurt her," he held up his hands placatingly at the scowl on Booth's face. "You would not believe the kind of trouble she can get herself into even when she's supposed to be all tucked in somewhere nice and safe." He explained, running a hand through his hair as some of the worst incidents that he had been involved with over the years whirled through his mind.

Booth looked at Grant and fought the urge to laugh at his put upon expression. Oh, yeah, he and Brennan had been partners for more than five years so he knew exactly what kind of trouble she could get herself into without even trying and he could even understand the instinctive need to go to the aid of someone you had been protecting so long. The fact that they felt the need to protect her even from him gave him mixed feelings. On the one hand, she didn't need to be protected from him and they should know that by now. On the other hand, how could he condemn them for caring so much about her? He was willing to bet that she had run this bunch ragged from day one and he almost felt sorry for them. The assertion that they had never believed that he would physically harm Brennan calmed him somewhat and he truly appreciated the apology. Nodding his acceptance of the apology, he waited on the other man to continue. Grant could see Booth relaxing and his anger cooling and he was glad. Especially since he didn't know how the other man would take his next remarks.

"You have to remember that Red has never really had to answer to anyone for her actions when we were on missions," Grant explained. Booth's brow rose. He knew that this bunch pretty much let her do what she wanted to but a military mission carried out without each and every person being responsible to someone for their actions was almost incomprehensible to a former sniper.

"Wait. What do you mean she never had to answer to anyone? What about Nathaniel? Or the higher-ups in the chain of command? Surely the people who sent her on all of these missions would be interested in what she did while she was on them?" Grant snorted and rolled his eyes at the mention of Nathaniel keeping Brennan in line. Okay, Booth had to give him that one. He had already known that Nathaniel had little to no control over Brennan and he was actually okay with that. He was a little taken aback by the pitying look Grant shot him at the rest of his questions.

"Nathaniel always tried to keep her in line," Grant acceded, his tone alone telling Booth how well that had worked. Not very. "As for the higher ups," Grant's voice now carried a heavy note of disgust, "they considered Red a very, very valuable asset. She could get us in places that normally we just couldn't go and they didn't really care what she did as long as we got results." Booth felt the familiar fury of his wife being used by the government sweep over him but there was nothing he could do to change that and it was now most definitely at an end. He would see to that. Before Booth could answer, Grant realized that they had gotten off the subject.

"My point is that she's used to doing whatever needs to be done without any real consequences and I honestly don't think she knows how to take orders," Grant shook his head sadly that they had never been able to make Brennan understand that concept then glanced up sharply at Booth's snort. _Oh, she knew how to take orders all right_, Booth thought, _she just didn't like doing it and knew she could get away with it with this group_, but Booth was a beginning to get Grant's point and he didn't like it all that much.

"I'm her husband, Grant, not her commanding officer or her boss," Booth growled in aggravation.

"Exactly," Grant agreed placidly and Booth blinked in surprise. _Had he been acting like Brennan's commanding officer or boss instead of her husband?_ He honestly didn't think so but had to admit that those lines could have gotten a little blurred in the last couple of weeks. _Dammit, he could actually see Grant's point._

"So I should cut her some slack?" Booth asked with a trace of amusement in his voice.

"Yep," Grant grinned. "You also have to remember that Red is very, very good at just about everything she does and she doesn't do things in a small way. So when something goes wrong, it's usually pretty damned major." Booth was intrigued by the note of experience in Grant's voice. In his opinion, it had, indeed, been major for his wife to basically go after Perez with only Alex as an accomplice. Obviously the other man had some experience with her not always showing the soundest judgment and, surprisingly, Booth wanted to hear all about it.

"Are you ladies going to stand out here and gossip all day or will you be joining us in the ring?" Garrett asked irrepressibly, stepping into the hallway from the gym. Booth and Garret rolled their eyes at each other but obligingly pushed away from the wall and walked into the gym. Gavin was already in the ring and Garrett quickly joined him. Leaning back against the wall while he watched the twins try to kill each other, Booth winced as Garrett landed a hard right to Gavin's side just as Gavin landed a hard left to exactly the same spot on Garrett's side at the same instant. Watching closely, he was fascinated to see that they moved exactly alike, landing the same punches on each other at almost the same instant over and over again.

"Tell me about these things going wrong," Booth said to Grant as if their conversation hadn't been interrupted. Alex joined them in time to hear the question.

"Red's screw ups?" he clarified with a raised brow. Grant and Booth both nodded and Alex laughed. Booth looked at him questioningly. "I wouldn't even classify them as screw ups," Alex mused almost to himself. "She just seems to wind up in all these dangerous situations and most of the time I have no freaking idea how it happened," Alex ran an agitated hand through his hair and Booth bit his lip to keep from laughing. Alex glared at him, "It's not funny, Booth. She can get in some of the tightest fixes of anybody I've ever seen but no matter how bad it seems at the time, it just always seems to work out ok in the end. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen," Alex offered, his face full of wonder at the phenomenon. Booth looked at Grant and saw the same look reflected on his face, but he didn't get it.

"Example," Booth demanded, barely biting back the words, _I don't know what that means _before they slipped out. He could just imagine the other's amusement at that.

"Like when you put her somewhere safe and tell her to stay there and she marches into an armed enemy camp to buy Beavis and Butthead there for an IPod and a watch. She shouldn't have walked out of that village alive but she did and she brought them with her," Alex said, pointing at the twins to clarify who he meant. Luckily, they were still too busy punching each other to object to being renamed. "Hell, for that matter, she should never have walked away from rescuing us the first time. None of us should have but we all did. I've seen her in some really tough scrapes that she shouldn't have survived time after time but she always does. So, I knew she would be okay yesterday, Booth." Well, there went Booth's laughter. He was furious all over again, stepping away from the wall and going toe to toe with Alex who was only a couple of inches shorter than him.

"She had no business being there in the first place, Alex and she wouldn't have if you hadn't helped her," he yelled straight into Alex's face. Alex didn't even blink at the anger radiating from the taller man.

"Don't kid yourself, Booth. If I hadn't helped her, she would have figured out some way to do it alone. There was just no way she was going to walk away and leave all of you to die out there and you know it. At least this way, I was there to watch her back." Alex's voice was calm but there was steel underlying it, he believed every word out of his mouth. Dammit, so did Booth, he knew Alex was right but that didn't really help with the anger.

"How could you take her out there to die, Alex?" Booth demanded in a harsh whisper, his hands curled into fists at his sides. Alex closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand over his face, holding onto his own temper determinedly. He reminded himself that Booth had a right to be angry and it was better that he be angry at him than at Red but he couldn't stand for any of them to actually believe he had taken her out there to die. Yes, it had been a possibility but he had never really believed it would happen.

"I didn't take her out there to die, Booth," he repudiated. "It did get a little hairy there for a while but that wasn't exactly the plan," he grudgingly admitted. "Even after we lost the chopper, I knew you would come after her and all I had to do was keep her alive until you got there." That assurance didn't pacify Booth in the least.

"She got shot," Booth yelled, grabbing handfuls of Alex's t-shirt.

"There was one screw up and it was a doozy," Grant said loudly, trying to distract the two men who were glaring at each other. Neither man even looked at him and there was no way he was stepping between them. Hell, he couldn't if he wanted to as they were now nose to nose.

"She was wearing Kevlar," Alex responded, not to make light of Brennan being shot but to show Booth she had been as protected as possible. It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull and Alex saw that so he thought he might as well get everything he had to say out in the open here and now. "I know you're angry with both of us, Booth, and I can live with that. So if it will make you feel better, take your best shot," he invited, pulling his t-shirt from Booth's grip and backing up a couple of steps, spreading his arms to indicate he wouldn't try to defend himself. "But Red did what she did because she loves you and you might want to remember that. She doesn't deserve you making her cry and before you do it again, you might want to seriously consider that what we did yesterday saved your ass." By the time Alex finished his tirade, he was just as loud as Booth had been and almost as angry.

Brennan entered the gym with Alex's words still echoing. No one had noticed her entry but she quickly took in the presence of all five men. Garrett and Gavin were in the practice ring, looking toward Alex and Booth with wide eyed interest. Grant stood with his back to her and was muttering something but she wasn't paying attention because her interest was snagged by the two others present. Alex was standing about two feet in front of Booth and she could clearly see that he and Booth were about to have a physical altercation and suddenly it was just too much. The anger that had driven her down here to put a stop to just this situation evaporated to be replaced with profound fatigue that seemed to instantly drain all her energy away.

She had tried so hard to protect everyone and she was overjoyed that none of their people had died yesterday but she didn't feel joyful. She just felt tired and sad. Yes, her actions had saved lives but they had also brought her unexpectedly large amounts of emotional pain and grief. Not that she had expected or even wanted thanks but she sure as hell hadn't expected this. Her husband was angry with her, her second family was bickering and falling apart, she was filled with guilt, anger and so many other emotions that she couldn't even name much less know what to do with them. At this point, she just wanted to go home, to escape all this and return to her reality but she couldn't even do that yet. She had tried to make Booth understand but his continued anger with Alex was a good indication that he didn't understand or forgive her. She had tried to protect Alex so he wouldn't be hurt for something she had talked him into doing, but here he was practically taunting Booth to hit him and Booth was barely holding himself in check and suddenly she was just too damned tired to try to stop it. She had had enough. If they wanted to beat the crap out of each other, then so be it. Maybe it would make them feel better and she didn't think it could make her feel any worse. In fact, she didn't think anything could get past the tiredness, the sadness dragging at her right now. She realized she was wrong as she turned to silently leave the men to their games and she caught Grant's words.

"She was supposed to block the exits from a building and she brought the entire building down." Grant continued doggedly, hoping to catch Booth's attention with the story. His eyes widened as he heard the gasp of outrage behind him and he ducked. But he wasn't fast enough to avoid the sharp slap on the back of his head. Gingerly rubbing his head, he turned to face Brennan and gave her a charming smile. She snorted in his face.

"You're just never going to let that go are you, Grant?" Brennan demanded, her hands planted on her hips. She had actually felt a little spurt of anger for just a second but it was quickly extinguished. Booth's head snapped around at the sound of his wife's voice and he was fiercely glad she hadn't come in even a few seconds later or she would have seen him slugging Alex and that would have been bad. Turning his back on Alex, Booth took deep, calming breaths and tried to get himself under control.

"Come on, Red, it was a 5 story building," Garrett called laughingly from the ring. He and Gavin had stopped pounding on each other and were leaning against the ropes of the ring watching the show. Brennan glared at them and they both winked at her.

"I have told you repeatedly that that building was already structurally unsound or the bare minimum of explosives that I employed would not have completely collapsed the entire building," she snapped at the grinning twins. Booth frowned and looked at Brennan more closely, easily spotting that something was wrong. She was trying to sound angry as if it was expected of her with this particular conversation but he could tell she wasn't really angry. She looked almost dejected and she hadn't once looked at him. Alex snorted behind him and Brennan's gaze swung to him, bypassing Booth entirely. She didn't even bother to glare at Alex. _Yep, something was definitely up._

"You're probably right, Red, but you know that's not the worst part," teased Alex. Brennan looked at him, blinked a couple of times then freaked her boys out completely when she simply sighed and dropped all pretence of anger.

"You're right, Alex," she agreed softly, "the worst part is that I blew up the wrong building entirely." Booth looked around and the others appeared to be frozen in shock. Booth could only surmise that this was something they frequently teased her about and he knew she would have varied arguments to counter each and every point one of them made. It wasn't like her to just give up on anything, especially an argument. _Something was very wrong here. _

Booth took a step toward her, his hand already extended, but she held out a hand to stop him, finally meeting his eyes and he wasn't sure how to describe the look he saw there. He had never seen it in those beautiful blue eyes before but it sent a shiver down his spine. In anyone else he would have described it as defeated but his Bones didn't give up, she fought to the bitter end, no matter what.

"They need you all to debrief," she said and Booth could hear the weariness in her voice. Her eyes never left his and they began to look exhausted as well. "Then if you and Alex still feel the need to settle your differences physically, be my guest." It was the first thing she had said directly to him and he didn't find that encouraging. _What the hell had happened in the last 45 minutes?_ They had been fine when he had left her to be debriefed but he had the feeling they were far from fine right now. While he was trying to figure out what the hell had happened, she turned on her heel and left the room.


	37. Chapter 37

**I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to review. I apologize in advance for the length of this chapter but it turned out to be necessary. I hope you enjoy it. Please don't forget to review so we can keep Musie a happy camper.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth was out the door after his wife like a shot, his argument with Alex forgotten, all his attention focused of catching up with Brennan and finding out what was wrong. There was no doubt in his mind that something was very, very wrong but she was going to have to tell him what it was because he didn't have a clue. He knew things were a little touchy between them right now but he thought he had reassured her that everything was going to be ok, that they had reached the turning point and everything was definitely ok after their blowup. He guessed it was possible that was the problem but he didn't think so. He also thought it was possible she had thought he and Alex were going to fight and break a promise to her but he would have expected her to be angry and yell about that, not look sad and defeated. His heart clenched as he recalled the look in her eyes. He had never, ever expected to see that kind of look on the face of his stubborn, indomitable wife and found himself vowing to do whatever was necessary to make sure he never did again. He didn't even notice that all four soldiers were hot on his heels. He did notice that Brennan was moving pretty damned swiftly because she was already out of sight when they entered the hallway and trotted down the corridor. They came into sight of the briefing room and General Hood waved them toward the door with a congenial smile. Booth did no more than glance into the room and turn away when he saw Brennan wasn't present.

"Have you seen my wife?" Booth demanded of a startled Hood.

"Of course, Agent Booth, we spoke with your wife at length a short time ago," Hood answered, looking at Booth as if he had lost his mind.

"He means right now. Did you see Red come this way just before us?" Alex clarified and Hood shook his head.

"Could you have missed her?" Grant demanded. Hood looked at the concern on the men's faces and his lingering amusement over the tongue lashing Brennan had likely given Alex and Booth faded to be replaced by mild disquiet.

"I suppose it's possible but it is highly doubtful," Hood answered briskly. "Am I to assume that Dr. Brennan is missing?" The five men looked at each other then back at Hood, certain that what they were thinking was crazy. She couldn't have been more than a minute in front of them and, even thought it appeared that she had vanished into thin air, they all knew that was impossible. They also knew there was no way someone could get into the embassy unnoticed much less snatch her silently and spirit her away in that length of time. It just wasn't possible. That meant she was on the premises. Somewhere. They just had to find her.

Hood turned back into the room and informed the other 3 men that the debriefing that would have to be rescheduled. Turning back toward the hallway, he found Booth already taking the stairs two at a time and the other four splitting up and heading in different directions to, apparently, search for the good doctor. Going to the phone, he quickly verified from the guards at the gate that she had not left the premises and was more relieved than he would have thought to find out that he was correct.

He hadn't liked being the one to bring Dr. Brennan into this mess in the first place. He really, really liked the blunt, outspoken woman and had never wished to see her come to harm. Even though he had known there was a certain amount of danger associated with this mission, he would have felt terrible if something had actually happened to her, especially after what his own daughter had tried to do to the woman. He would have liked to have helped in the search but he had no idea where he could be useful so he reluctantly went back to filling out his reports. After a moment, he sat back with a sigh. Who the hell was he kidding? He had seen that all was not well with Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth at the hospital when they had been treated and after hearing the reports on what had happened, he could understand why. He had definitely caused the anthropologist and her husband both emotional and physical harm simply by dragging them into this mess. He could only pray that it wasn't something they couldn't overcome because if he had ever seen two people that were meant to be together, it was them.

Brennan dragged herself off the toilet of the bathroom she had ducked into to give herself a moment to pull herself together. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there staring into space but it had been a while and it obviously was not working. She had no earthly idea what was going on with her. She had never felt this way before so she had no point of reference. She only knew that she didn't feel at all like herself and she didn't like it. But no matter how harshly she told herself to snap out of it, she just felt sad and tired, empty and almost drained to the point that nothing really mattered right now and that, alone, scared the crap out of her. Because things did matter to her, a lot of things mattered to her.

And Booth was at the top of that list. He mattered to her more than anything or anyone else in the world. And, despite what she had just seen in the gym, she knew that she mattered to him, that he loved her just as much as he loved her. She knew, in her heart, that they would work this out and they would be okay but it scared her to death that even her heart seemed to just echo eerily with tiny remnants of what she usually felt when she thought of her husband and their future together. What was wrong with her? She knew that she hadn't stopped loving her husband, it was impossible for her to still be breathing and that to have happened. She knew, without a doubt, that she would love him until the day she died but she had no idea what was going on inside her right now and didn't know how to explain it to him or anyone else. And, with the way things were going between them right now, she was almost afraid to even try to explain how she felt. What if she messed up the explanation? She knew she wasn't that good talking about feelings so what if she got it all jumbled and turned around and made things worse than they already were? She had no idea what to do and that was a new and somewhat unpleasant experience for her.

Washing her hands out of habit rather than necessity, she pulled open the bathroom door and stepped into the hallway, not really having a destination in mind. She had taken several steps before she realized that someone was speaking to her and turned to find herself face-to-face with Miriam Whitehouse, the ambassador's wife. This was not Brennan's first visit to this embassy. In fact, she had stayed here fairly often in the past when she had been assisting Nathaniel's team. It was a secure location where information and other things could be passed without fear of discovery.

She and Miriam had become acquainted and Brennan had found the fifty something woman to be a welcome change from the political wives she usually encountered. Miriam was tall, statuesque, very pretty still and very aware of whom she was married to and how she should act. She, however, rarely let that influence her actions and Brennan had really liked that about her. She failed to see the point in all the ass kissing in political circles and was fascinated to see Miriam work those same circles without her lips ever touching a derriere but she always came away with everyone there loving her. They had become friends and Brennan had asked her how she did that, her scientific sense of inquiry demanding some answers. Miriam had laughed heartily and told Brennan that her father was a bullshitter from way back and it was, apparently, genetic. Brennan had no idea what that meant but she hadn't pressed the issue.

Then Miriam had endeared herself to Brennan eternally. When she had been rescued from Perez's clutches, Brennan had been in bad shape, emotionally. Her physical health had been less than stellar after being starved for three days and the boys had been unable to get her to eat during the several days it took to get her to the city. She had been in good shape, though, compared to the girls. They were terrified, even around the boys. They followed Brennan around like little ghosts, screaming if she left their sights for even an instant. They knew little English and Brennan's knowledge of their language was limited but over the days of the journey to the city, they had developed a means of communication and made themselves understood to each other.

Arranging transport out of the country with the girls was a problem and would take a few days but they had all agreed it was the only thing they could do. No way could they leave those defenseless children behind to be found by Perez or, even worse, Rodrigo and there was no way those two would ever stop looking for witnesses to their sick fun. Reaching the city, they had come to the conclusion that the embassy was the safest, most secure place for the girls and Brennan until they could get them out of the country. Brennan had agreed but had been inwardly terrified that someone would try to take the girls from them and she wasn't about to let that happen. She had intended to enlist Miriam's assistance in hiding the girls but it had been completely unnecessary. Miriam had taken one look at the ragged group standing in front of her, especially those little girls and her heart had melted. Looking into Brennan's shattered eyes, she had hugged her tightly and simply said, "Tell me". So Brennan had given her what details she could stand to share and Miriam had made it her mission to get those children safely out of this country and help them disappear forever. Deciding it would look suspicions if they tried to hide them, she had treated them as honored guests. Brennan had never asked what cover story Miriam had given and Miriam had never said but it had, apparently, worked and Brennan would never forget the kindness the woman had shown to those two orphaned little girls and herself.

"Temperence," Miriam said with a radiant smile, coming toward Brennan with both hands extended, "I'm so sorry I wasn't available to greet you last night but we were out. I've been on the lookout for you all day. I hope you weren't going to leave without saying hello," she laughed, grasping Brennan's weakly extended hands and pulling her into a hug. Stepping back, she got a good look at Brennan's face and her laughter fled. She had only seen that shattered look on this woman's face once before and she truly hoped nothing like that had happened to her friend again. "What the hell has that bunch dragged you into now?" she demanded. "I swear to God, girl, I know you know how to use your words so I would think you would be able to say no to them every once in a while." Brennan was startled by the venom in Miriam's voice on her behalf then it struck her as extremely funny that anyone else would be upset on her behalf and she began to giggle. Miriam took one look at Brennan's face and cursed inwardly, knowing she had a near hysterical woman on her hands. Dr. Temperence Brennan did not giggle and Miriam knew she wouldn't want anyone to see her like this. "Come on, Sweetie. Let's go to my apartment and have some tea," she urged the still giggling Brennan, locking arms with her and leading her unresisting form away.

Booth took the stairs two at a time, his heart pounding so hard he wasn't sure his chest could contain it, the taste of real fear in his mouth. He had no idea what was going on with his wife but he knew instinctively that he needed to find her and find out. He had thought he knew everything about the amazing woman he had married but these last few weeks had proven that assumption false and he was actually ok with that. After all, they had the rest of their lives to continue to get to know each other but he didn't want to become familiar with the look he had seen in her eyes in the gym. He only wanted to find out what was wrong and make it and that look go away because it scared the crap out of him. What if he was responsible for putting that look in her eyes, for making her feel that way? Brennan was a fighter. She never, ever gave up. She didn't get defeated and to think he was somehow responsible for putting that look there broke his heart.

_Had he truly been so caught up in his own anger that he hadn't seen what he was doing to his wife?_ Yes, he had to admit, it was possible. More than possible, his conscience snorted, it's pretty much a sure thing. Damn, sometimes Booth hated having the conscience of a good Catholic boy, it just loved to kick your ass when you were already down. But it was usually right and, as usual, he listened to it. _Had his need to extract revenge from Alex almost driven him to break a promise to his wife?_ Yes, it had and she knew it, her walking in had been the only thing that had stopped it and she had known that or she wouldn't have basically told them that she no longer cared if they beat the crap out of each other. _God, he couldn't believe he had almost done that_, he thought running a hand over his face. He knew how hard it was to gain Brennan's trust and he had almost just thrown it away because he was angry at a man who had been doing what he thought was the right thing, who had been willing to give his life to protect Brennan. _What the hell was wrong with him? _Yes, he was still angry with Alex but that hardly registered at the moment. And this wasn't about Alex. It was about him almost breaking trust with his wife and the only thing that mattered right now was finding his wife and fixing things with her.

Reaching the bedroom that had been assigned to them, he eased the door open and slipped inside, fully expecting her to be there. She wasn't. His eyes ran over the room over and over, sure that she was there but he just hadn't spotted her yet. He strode over to the bathroom and shoved the door open just to make sure but it was empty. Knowing it was ridiculous to think she might be hiding from him in there, he even looked in the walk-in closet. _Empty, just like he felt without her._ Deflating, he sank into one of the plush armchairs in the room and dropped his head into his hands. _Where was she?_ It wasn't like his Bones to hide from anything but, then again, he had never seen her defeated either. _Had he done so much damage that she had actually run away from him? No! _his heart cried and his head shot up. No, he couldn't believe that she would have just left without a word to him, not now, not even after their fight. She simply wouldn't do that, not to him, not to herself and not to their relationship. He believed that with all his heart.

The need to find her was growing by the second, he needed to see her, to hold her and have her tell him what was wrong. He needed to tell her he was sorry for almost breaking his promise not to hit Alex and reassure her that he would talk things out with the other man without physical violence. He needed to tell her that he loved her and was sorry if he had ever made her doubt that and that he truly understood why she had done what she did but he was still upset that she had put herself in danger and would be upset anytime that happened regardless of the circumstances. He needed to tell her that he was ready to let go of his anger that he wanted to take her home and get on with their lives together and that nothing she or anyone else ever did would make him want to not be with her. But most of all, he needed her to tell him what was wrong so he could fix it. And he would fix it, he would slay dragons for the love of his life so he had no doubts that he could take care of whatever was bothering her. He would simply wrap her up in his love and show her that nothing would ever, ever come between them. That decision made, he got to his feet and strode from the room to find his wife and slay those dragons.

Brennan listlessly followed Miriam into her and Herbert's luxuriously appointed apartment, her mind, maybe for the first time in her life, blank. She saw the concerned glances that Miriam kept giving her but she couldn't seem to bring herself to care and that actually perked her up a little. It might sound bad but it was a hell of a lot better than how she had been feeling for the last few days and she might just try to hang onto this feeling, or rather not feeling, for a while. She saw that Miriam had redecorated since she had been here last but couldn't really get excited about it so she didn't mention it. She seated herself on the sofa that Miriam indicated and looked at her friend blankly, waiting for instructions.

Miriam looked at Brennan and felt a shiver of real fear for her friend run down her spine. Miriam had been intrigued when she first met Brennan, both by the woman herself and the awe and respect she received from the average soldier. In Miriam's experience, this was a rare occurrence for a woman and unheard of for a woman who wasn't even in the military. So, she had started asking questions and she might have accidentally seen some of the reports on Brennan's activities that came across her husband's desk. At first, she had been disbelieving, skeptical that anyone not in the military would be trusted with missions like she was supposedly sent on and truly dubious that one woman could accomplish all the things that were credited to her. But visit after visit, Miriam had watched Brennan and talked to her and she had found herself developing a deep respect for this woman who put her life on the line for her country, not because it was her job but because she felt it was the right thing to do. She had found herself not only believing but reveling in each one of Brennan's accomplishments. She couldn't have been prouder of her if she had been her very own daughter.

But this was not the woman she had come to know over the last several years, the woman who did extremely dangerous things with courage and ingenuity. This wasn't even the shattered woman who had been captured and tortured by Perez. Most people, even big, strong soldiers would have been broken by that experience but not Temperence Brennan. Miriam had been extremely worried about her friend when Nathaniel had brought her to the embassy but Brennan had brushed aside Miriam's worry. Brennan's only concern had been to get the two little girls out of the country and Miriam had helped her for a multitude of reasons but mainly because it was the right thing to do. Miriam had watched Brennan closely, expecting her to break down at any time, but she never had and Miriam had seen an inner strength that awed her, a strength that might bend and tatter around the edges but she had never thought to see it break. But looking at the woman in front of her, she saw that she had been very, very wrong. Someone or something had finally broken that indomitable will that she so respected and treasured in her friend.

"Temperence," Miriam said softly, sitting beside Brennan as if she was made of glass and would shatter at a wrong move which wasn't far off from how Miriam viewed the current situation. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, reaching out to pat Brennan's arm then withdrawing her hand, almost afraid to touch her when she felt the tension radiating from the anthropologist's body.

"Talk about what?" Her voice was as blank as her eyes and Miriam fought the urge to grab her friend, give her a good shake and demand that she snap out of it. That certainly wouldn't help things as they stood.

Miriam was very, very good at reading people. She had seen people come through the embassy running for their lives and she had seen genuine terror, shock and just about every other emotion you could name but she wasn't getting any of that from Brennan right now, she was getting absolutely nothing. She was praying it wasn't because Brennan had completely shut down but she was very afraid that was exactly what had happened and she had no idea what to do about it. _Should she just confront her bluntly like she would have done in the past?_ No, she needed to figure out whom or what the hell had done this to her friend then she could figure out what to do about it.

"So, Herbert tells me there's a man sharing your room," Miriam began to probe for information in a breathy, gossipy voice that had always had Brennan rolling her eyes before. Brennan nodded and Miriam sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. "So, spill, who is he?" Miriam encouraged, truly curious.

"My husband," Brennan answered calmly.

"_Your what_?!" Brennan flinched and Miriam winced at her own raised voice. She was very familiar with Brennan's views on marriage and surprised didn't begin to cover what she was to hear that Brennan had succumbed. "You're married?" Miriam needed to hear it again, just to make sure she hadn't misunderstood. She was encouraged to see a faint smile touch Brennan's lips at her surprise.

"Yes, Miriam, I'm married," Brennan assured her, turning sideways on the sofa to face the other woman and Miriam copied the move, glad to see Brennan a little more animated.

"Well, don't stop there. I need details here," Miriam's enthusiasm reminded Brennan so much of Angela that she felt tears sting her eyes and her heart ached with how much she missed her the rest of her family. She pushed the feeling aside and concentrated on her friend's words. Miriam paused as she saw the glitter of tears in Brennan's eyes but she also saw a spark of feeling that was almost instantaneously extinguished from within and knew she had her work cut out for her. Well, at least she now knew that the feelings were there, Brennan was simply burying them and Miriam could only guess it was because she couldn't deal with everything she was feeling at the moment. Having known the anthropologist for years, that wouldn't surprise Miriam and she could definitely help with that. At least, she hoped she could. "Come on, Temperence, you've got to give me something here," Miriam whined and Brennan couldn't hold back her grin. "Who is he?" Miriam was thrilled with the grin but she also genuinely wanted the 411 on the man who could change Brennan's mind about marriage.

"It's Booth," Brennan said softly as if that was all there was to say and it kind of was. Miriam had always questioned Brennan about the special man in her life but there never seemed to be one, not one that she would talk about anyway. But she was always ready to talk about her partner and Miriam had gotten the impression that there was much more there than just being friends and partners. She was glad, for her friend's sake, that she had fallen in love with her best friend, someone who already knew her, good qualities and bad, and loved her as much as she obviously loved him. Brennan deserved someone to love her that much. _And marriage with your best friend was the best of all worlds_, Miriam thought, _and she should know, she had been married to her best friend for almost 30 years now and they were happier than they had ever been._

"Can I get you something, Mrs. Whitehouse?" questioned a shy young woman, coming into the room. Miriam smiled at the girl.

"Maria, I've told you repeatedly that there is no need for formalities. Please call me Miriam, just like your mother does." Maria smiled and blushed but didn't answer. Miriam turned to Brennan consideringly. She really didn't think they needed tea, she thought this situation called for alcohol. "Wine or whiskey?" she queried with a raised brow and Brennan laughed. Miriam could drink her under the table, apparently another trait passed on genetically from her father.

"Wine," Brennan answered, going with the safer choice. Maria didn't wait for Miriam to instruct her, she hurried out of the room, obviously eager to please. "What happened to Esperenza?" Brennan asked quietly, knowing that Miriam's old housekeeper had been with her for years and they were great friends.

"She had a stroke and isn't doing all that well," Miriam responded sadly. "Maria is her daughter and I couldn't say no when Esperenza asked if she could take her place. She does a really good job, but I miss her mother." Brennan could understand that. She only had a select few that she considered true friends and losing any of them would leave a hole in her life. She smiled politely at the girl when she brought their wine and quickly left the room. Her mother would have sat down and chatted with them. Sighing, Miriam opened the bottle of wine and poured them both glasses. Sitting back and handing Brennan hers, she lightly tapped her glass against Brennan's. "Congratulations on your marriage," she offered warmly.

"Thank you." Brennan smiled and sipped her wine. Miriam sat back with an inner smile. It always amazed her that Brennan didn't do girl talk. She had never quite gotten up the nerve to ask her if she didn't know how or just didn't see the need. She was guessing it was a combination of the two but why didn't really matter. What mattered was that if you wanted to know something with the other woman, you had to ask.

"How long have you been married?" Brennan's brow furrowed as she silently counted.

"Two weeks tomorrow," she answered placidly, looking at Miriam oddly when she appeared to choke on her wine.

"What?" gasped Miriam. "You've not even been married two weeks and you're both here on a mission for the government?" Brennan blinked as if she didn't understand the question then nodded.

Miriam was aghast. _What the hell was wrong with Hood and his people? _ She didn't care how long and well two people had known each other or if they were even already living together, marriage between those same two people changed things in some indefinable way and they needed an adjustment period. And that period sure as hell exceeded two weeks. _Why couldn't they have allowed the couple more time together before intruding? What could have been so all fired important that it couldn't wait? _

"It wasn't like we had a lot of choice," Brennan mused and Miriam was startled from her inner musings, wondering if the other woman had just read her mind. But no, Brennan wasn't even looking at her, she was staring into her wineglass as if it held the answers to the mysteries of the universe and she looked so sad that Miriam felt her heart break for her friend.

"Why didn't you have a choice?" she questioned softly.

"Rodrigo tried to blow up my lab." Brennan was no longer sad, she was utterly furious as she drained her glass and leaned forward to pour herself more wine. Miriam was confused.

"Juan Rodrigo tried to blow up your lab at the Jeffersonian?" The confusion in Miriam's voice had Brennan glancing at her and nodding. "Why? Was he trying to kill you?" Miriam knew all about Rodrigo and him trying to kill someone wouldn't surprise her at all. He was a very bad man. Rather he had been a very bad man, she reminded herself, doubting anyone anywhere really mourned his recent demise. Brennan snorted.

"Hardly. I wasn't even there. No, he wasn't trying to kill me. He was trying to force the Jeffersonian to sever their partnership with the FBI." Miriam winced at the guilt in her friend's voice. "He wanted me to help General Hood get rid of Perez so that he could assume leadership of the drug cartel and he thought Booth, as my _partner_, would try to talk me out of offering my assistance." She began to laugh and Miriam couldn't help but notice it had a slightly hysterical edge to it. She also noticed that Brennan might be doing her best to not feel anything but all kinds of emotions were boiling inside her, barely contained below the surface. Miriam was glad she hadn't shut down completely but the fact that it looked like her friend was about to blow with the force of Mt. Vesuvius worried her just a tad.

"Why is that funny?" Still laughing, Brennan turned toward her.

"Booth and I got married in Las Vegas two days before that son of a bitch tried to blow up my lab and hurt my family." Brennan's laughter stopped and her voice was so cold that Miriam shivered then she processed the words and was horrified. Brennan had changed her life in a way that she had always sworn she would never do, something that had to generate strong feelings and needed at least some time to adjust to. She had, no doubt, gone home two days later expecting to have that time and enjoy congratulations and good wishes from her family and had, instead, walked into fear and chaos. And Miriam knew well how loyal Brennan was toward people she cared about, she imagined she would be even more so with people she loved and her people being put at risk had to have been stressful. Reaching over, Miriam laid a hand on Brennan's arm silently offering comfort.

"Then what happened?" At this point Miriam was almost afraid to ask but Brennan seemed willing to talk about it and Miriam got the impression that she needed to talk about it with someone.

"Hood asked me to help trap Perez and I turned him down," she said indignantly, draining her glass again. "Rodrigo didn't like that so he came to my office to see me and told me if I didn't willingly offer my assistance, he would kill my family one by one. Then he would take me to Perez himself." Miriam drained her glass on this one, grabbed the bottle and poured refills for both of them.

"He actually came to your work to threaten you after he tried to blow the place up?" Miriam asked, amazed at the gall it would take to do that. "He didn't try to hurt you, did he?" Concern was evident in her voice and Brennan patted Miriam's arm reassuringly.

"He didn't get a chance. Nathaniel got there before he got that far and threw him out." Brennan looked at Miriam curiously as the older woman choked on the mouthful of wine she had just taken and started coughing.

"How long," cough, gasp, "had you been back," gasp, cough, "when Nathaniel," cough, "showed up?" Brennan helpfully thumped Miriam on the back until the coughing fit was over.

"Two days," Brennan sighed. Miriam closed her eyes. She had been married four days and Nathaniel had shown up? _Oh, dear God, that didn't even bear thinking about_. She knew how Nathaniel felt about Brennan and that Brennan was oblivious but she doubted that her brand, spanking new husband could have missed it and that couldn't have gone over well. At this point, she wasn't surprised that Brennan was emotionally volatile or even drained, she was just surprised she was still standing on her own two feet.

Brennan's head dropped against the back of the sofa and it suddenly occurred to her how good it felt to tell this story to someone completely outside everything that had happened. Someone who wouldn't judge her, someone who didn't have an agenda, even if that agenda was keeping her safe, someone to whom she didn't have to explain and justify every thought and action and someone who might be able to give her some insight in how to fix things with her husband because she had to determine how to make things right with Booth. She just had to because it was her fault things were so messed up in the first place and it was killing her for him to be that angry with her. It was even worse to feel the guilt over hurting him and knowing that he had every right to feel that way. Her heart ached at the agony and fear she had put him through and she gave up on locking away her feelings. She had never been able to do that with Booth and didn't really want to, she just wanted to understand what she was feeling and why she was feeling that way.

She truly understood his point of view and was willing to admit that she had acted rashly, but something she hadn't told Booth was that she had known, in her heart and in her gut, that he would never let anything happen to her. She had just known that if something went wrong with her plan, he would come for her and she had trusted in that, as irrational and illogical as that was. _But how was she supposed to explain that to him now without it appearing that she was trying to flatter or placate him? Or without it looking like she was withholding things from him?_ She wasn't, she simply hadn't thought about it when they were fighting.

And how was she supposed to protect Alex from her husband's ire when he insisted on taunting Booth like that? _Maybe he didn't deserve her protection_, she thought sourly, _if he was going to act like that. Yes, he did deserve her protection,_ she acknowledged with an inward sigh. He had risked his life to help her save the lives of people they both cared about but he had mostly done it because of her and she couldn't let him get hurt because of that. And she was afraid that Booth would really lose his temper and they both would wind up hurt because Alex would fight back and he could definitely defend himself. If it hadn't been for that she would have handed them the sparring gloves herself and wished them both luck so Booth could get his need for vengeance out of his system and Alex could allow himself to be punished like he thought he deserved. Even though both men had promised not to fight, those promises had been made under duress but she had had every intention of demanding they be kept but now she just didn't know what to do. Men, she was finding, were exhausting and could be a royal pain in the ass.

Yes, even Booth could be a pain in the ass but he was worth every second of aggravation simply because she loved him. And it wasn't like she was always little Miss Sunshine and never caused him any frustration but he made her happy and fulfilled her in a way that her hard core feminist side didn't even want to admit existed. In essence, he completed her and she _knew_ he felt the same way about her, even when they were yelling at each other. She hated it when they were upset with each other. It made her stomach and heart hurt and she had to figure out a way to repair the damage she had caused but being a genius wasn't turning out to be of much aid in that endeavor and she refused to even consider the possibility that it couldn't be fixed. She loved him enough to die in his place because she had no desire to have a future without him in it but he already knew that from her actions and that, apparently, was part of the problem which made no sense whatsoever to her. She desperately needed the help of someone who knew about marriage and had no biases regarding her current predicament to figure out her course of action.

And it just so happened that such a person was sitting right beside her. Yes, Miriam was her friend but that didn't make her biased. Brennan had never known her to be anything less than honest and straightforward and she had been married for almost 3 decades so surely she would have some enlightening words of wisdom. Rolling her head, she eyed Miriam consideringly. Miriam sat placidly under her gaze, patiently waiting on Brennan to finish her musings and continue her story. Quickly making up her mind, Brennan sat up straight and turned more fully toward the older woman.

"I need some advice," she said quietly, "but I have to tell you the rest of the story first and I have to warn you that it gets a whole lot worse." Miriam's eyes widened as if she found that difficult to believe then, without a word, she set down her glass of wine, got up, went straight to the wet bar, poured two large glasses of scotch and returned to the sofa, handing one of the drinks to Brennan.

"Tell me," she said softly, reseating herself and turning toward Brennan. So Brennan did. She started with the time that she had spent as a captive of Perez for background. Yes, Miriam knew a little of this story but, at the time, Brennan had shared only the bare bones of events with her friend. Before she started, Brennan reassured Miriam they she could stop her at any time but the older woman never did so and Brennan gave her every brutal, gruesome detail. Miriam was pale and half of her drink was gone at the end of the story but she really held up like a trooper.

Miriam looked at Brennan and felt a level of respect for this woman but she wasn't sure she had ever felt for anyone else. She had to be one of the strongest, most indomitable people on the face of the earth to not only have survived such horrific events but to have been able to carry on and live her life, refusing to let those monsters take anything else away from her. She didn't especially enjoy hearing about the gruesome events that had taken place during those three days but she could tell that Brennan really, really needed to talk about this. And her friend had actually experienced all that horror so Miriam figured the least she could do was to listen when Brennan needed to talk about it. That's what friends were for. Reaching over, she took one of Brennan's hands in hers and held it tightly, not sure if she was offering or requesting comfort, but Brennan didn't object. She simply picked up the story from Nathaniel and the boys arriving in her office and continued through today, leaving out nothing.

When she came to the part about her fight with Booth, her heart rate sped up, her palms got all sweaty and she felt like she was going to throw up remembering the anger and pain that had been flowing in that room. It made her ashamed to know that she had hurt the person that she loved most in the whole world like she had. She honestly didn't know what she could have done differently but Booth was right, she should have talked to him about her plan. She simply told Miriam that she and Booth had had a disagreement, unable to bring herself to share the intimate details even with a good friend. This was between them and them alone.

When Brennan stopped talking, Miriam just stared at her in wide-eyed shock for several minutes then she turned her glass of scotch up only to find it empty. Reflexively reaching for Brennan's glass, she found it also empty. Getting up, she went to the bar, snatched up the bottle of alcohol, came back to the couch, sat down and poured them both about three more fingers of Scotch. Looking at the anthropologist, Miriam was no longer surprised that Brennan wasn't quite her usual self at the moment. She was only surprised that she wasn't a raving lunatic. How anyone could survive event after ghastly event and maintain not only their grip on sanity but there will to go on was beyond her. Miriam knew that she could never have done it. If only a small portion of those awful things had happened to her, she had no doubt that she would be permanently locked away in a rubber room somewhere. Being an ambassador's wife, she had thought she had an appropriate response to every situation imaginable but she now found herself floundering. What in the world were you supposed to say about what she had just heard? I'm sorry for your trouble didn't seem quite adequate but, then again, I'm glad the bastards are dead might be a little overkill. So she went with honesty because she knew that Brennan respected that.

"Temperance, I have no idea what the appropriate response to what you just told me is. But I'm very, very happy that you came through it without more serious injuries," she said quietly once again taking Brennan's hand and squeezing it gently.

Brennan returned the hand squeeze and she wanted to thank Miriam for the kind words but she just couldn't do it because, to her way of thinking, the injuries didn't get more serious than the emotional ones that she and Booth had inflicted on each other. She had always known that words held the power to cause pain and she didn't ever, ever want to have another fight like that with her husband. Oh, she knew that they would have many, many fights in the future but she hoped they could learn to do it more constructively instead of slicing each other to ribbons with words. But, she would have to worry about that later. Right now, she had to figure out how to fix things so there would be a future to worry about.

"Booth is really mad at me, Miriam," she said bluntly, her eyes begging the older woman for help as she settled against the back of the sofa in a languid slouch. Thanks to a combination of the amount of alcohol she had just consumed and her lack of adequate rest or decent meals over the past few days, she was starting to feel much mellower and very, very tired.

"So you're asking me for relationship advice?" Miriam wanted to be sure she wasn't misunderstanding the request. Brennan simply nodded. Generally, Miriam was very reluctant to give any type of relationship advice because she had found that it had a way of coming back to bite you in the ass. But she could see that her friend was struggling and she couldn't refuse to help. What she didn't have any problem at all with doing was guiding an individual to their own realizations and conclusions about the status of a relationship. She would definitely give that a try but if it didn't work, she would then offer the best advice she could based on the years of her own marriage. "Why do you think Booth is angry with you, Temperance?" Miriam could clearly see the misery of Brennan's face as she considered the question and her heart went out to the younger woman.

"I _know_ why he's angry, Miriam. I need you to tell me how to fix it." Miriam sighed at the hint of impatience in Brennan's voice. She should have known it wouldn't be as easy as a couple of questions turning her emotionally challenged friend into a relationship expert. _Okay then, time to hand out the advice and hope she didn't come to regret it._

"Temperance, it's impossible for me to tell you what actions to take to placate your husband because I really don't know enough about him to even be able to guess," Miriam held up a hand imperiously as Brennan sighed in disappointment and opened her mouth. Looking closely at the younger woman, Miriam almost laughed when she realized that Brennan was drunk. Brennan had asked for her advice so now she was going to listen to it before she either fell asleep or passed out. Miriam knew either was possible in her current state and it didn't look like it would be long in coming but she knew, from experience, that Brennan would remember this conversation so she forged ahead. "And, to be honest, I really don't think simply placating him is an ideal way to begin your marriage."

"I don't know what that means," Brennan sighed morosely and this time Miriam did laugh at the often repeated phrase.

"Sweetie," she said softly, giving the disgruntled looking anthropologist an apologetic smile, "you and your Booth have gone through more in two short weeks than most couples face in a lifetime so I'm not at all surprised that you have issues." Miriam paused and looked at Brennan a little oddly when she giggled a couple of times then broke into full throated laughter.

Brennan had no idea why she was laughing, that last comment had just struck her as hilarious. _Issues, she had issues_. She guessed that was as good of a thing to call a rip roaring fight with her husband as anything. She tried to stop laughing but, in her inebriated state, she couldn't seem to find the off button.

"Temperance," Miriam called sharply. Seeing that her friend was completely exhausted both emotionally and physically, she knew that she needed to finish dispensing advice and send the other woman off to sleep at least 24 hours. Miriam was certain that when Brennan was physically well rested, things would look brighter and she would be much more able to handle whatever was going on between her and her husband. Brennan's laughter dried up at the sharp note in Miriam's voice and she sat up and paid attention. "Sweetie, all I can really tell you is that keeping a marriage intact isn't always about who's right and who's wrong." Seeing the puzzled look on Brennan's face, she hurried on. "It's about caring enough about the other person to sometimes put their needs above your own. It's about being such good friends that you can and do talk about anything and everything and work out things as they come up. It's about respecting the other person enough to acknowledge that they have a right to their opinion and not trying to sway them to your way of looking at things. But mostly, Temperance, marriage is about compromise. You're the only person who can decide what's too important to you to compromise on but if only one person in the relationship is doing all the giving, then that relationship is pretty much doomed to failure."

"So I should let Booth win this one?" Miriam was a little startled at the interpretation Brennan had put on her words.

"Not necessarily. I guess I'm trying to say you should step back and try to see things from his point of view then just talk to him, Temperence. Tell him how you feel," Miriam urged.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Miriam. I don't want us to end up finding again and I don't even know how I feel so how can I discuss my feelings with Booth?" A huge yawn caught Brennan by surprise.

"How long has it been since you've had a full night's uninterrupted sleep?" Miriam asked. Brennan shrugged. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had slept more than four hours without interruption.

"I don't remember," she admitted sheepishly. Miriam put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a bracing hug.

"Okay, then here's what we're going to do," she ordered decisively. "You are going to finish your drink and then you are going to bed and you are going to rest up. I'll have meals sent up but you are not to leave that room for at least 24 hours." Miriam held up her hand for silence when she saw the militant set of Brennan's mouth. "Don't make me post a guard on your door." Miriam had no idea if she would actually have the guts to follow through with her threat but, luckily, she didn't have to find out because Brennan didn't argue.

"Fine, I'll get some sleep." Miriam almost laughed at the little girl pout that Brennan threw her away. She had almost forgotten how much the other woman liked to be in control and found herself suddenly hoping that this new husband of Brennan's had a core of steel or she would wind up walking all over him. But, she was only trying to help and she doubted that Brennan would rest well while being resentful of the fact that she was being forced to rest at all.

"Temperance," Miriam cajoled, "you are clearly physically and emotionally exhausted and I'm guessing that your husband is pretty much the same. You both need some rest before you try to tackle something that could impact the rest of your lives together." Brennan blinked at the other woman owlishly. She had to admit that she was pretty darn tired and getting sleepier by the second so maybe Miriam had a point.

"Okay, I really will get some rest," she promised softly.

"Good," Miriam only had a couple more things to say then she needed to hustle her guest off to bed before Brennan fell asleep where she sat which was going to be soon judging by the way her eyelids were drooping. Taking Brennan's hand, once again, Miriam finished the advice portion of the evening. "Temperence, it's obvious that you love your husband very much and I can only assume that he is just as much in love with you because I don't think you would have married him otherwise. Just always remember that maintaining a good relationship takes a lot of work from both parties and you have to communicate with each other and you'll be fine."

Brennan studied Miriam speculatively then nodded her understanding. Everything the other woman had said sounded perfectly logical to her but she would have to reason it out later because her head was getting a little fuzzy and she was having difficulty maintaining her train of thought. For some reason, Miriam being right about her needing to get some rest made her very, very happy. With a giggle, she got to her feet.

"Whoa," she whispered as the room began to spin around her. Dropping back onto the sofa, she tilted her head back and watched the ceiling go round and round. Miriam suppressed her laughter at Brennan's obvious enjoyment of what ever had caught her attention, got up from the sofa and went to the phone. She could easily call one of the guards to have Brennan taken back to her room but she had no intention of doing that. Picking up the phone, she decided it was about time she made the acquaintance of FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth.


	38. Chapter 38

**I hope you guys are pleased with this chapter. I know it's going to little slow right now but they need this time. Thanks so much to everyone who is taken the time to review and please continue. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: They do not belong to me which makes me very, very sad.**

Booth paced the surveillance room at the embassy impatiently, running an agitated hand through his hair repeatedly. Even though the room was fairly large, it was quite crowded at the moment with him, Garrett, Gavin, Grant, Alex, General Hood, the ambassador, two generals he didn't know and a couple of guards all viewing surveillance tapes from different parts of the embassy, trying to figure out where the hell his wife was. She had appeared to have vanished into thin air outside the gym on the lower floor and, as luck would have it, that area wasn't covered by security cameras. _Where the hell was she?_ Booth asked himself for the thousandth time, checking his watch and seeing that she had been missing for an hour and forty-five minutes.

She hadn't left the premises; they had checked the tapes from all the exits already and not spotted her. Conversely, she also didn't appear to be on the premises. General Hood had instituted a lockdown no more than 15 minutes after they realized she was missing and he assured Booth that every inch of the embassy had been searched with no sign of the missing anthropologist. Booth refused to entertain the possibility that something bad could have happened to her, but he was barely holding it together and he needed to find her fast. After the events of the last few days, he needed to see for himself that she was safe and whole. He also refused to think that she had run or that she was hiding and pouting somewhere because they were having problems, he just instinctively knew she wouldn't do that, she valued their relationship too much to just walk away from it and him. _She would never purposely leave him or their relationship. _This thought almost brought him to his knees and seemed to siphon off the anger he had been holding onto with both hands for the last couple of days. He was so filled with anxiety and fear over what his wife had gotten herself into this time that he just didn't have any room left over for anger.

"I'm going to check our room again," he said suddenly and started out of the room to do just that for about the twentieth time. The others looked at him with varying degrees of pity and concern but no one tried to stop him. They even had the good sense not to remind him that there was a guard on their bedroom door and he would have radioed in if she had returned. He already knew that but they didn't need another set of eyes looking at the videos and he had to _do_ something or he was going to lose it. He wasn't more than five feet down the hallway when he heard a mass exodus from the room behind him.

"We know where she is," Alex yelled as they all took off in the opposite direction from where Booth had been headed. Spinning on his heel, Booth plunged after them sending a prayer of thanks winging heavenward.

Miriam had only gotten two numbers punched on the phone when she heard what sounded like a herd of elephants approaching the door to her apartment. Startled, she replaced the phone receiver and started across the room. She had only taken four of five steps when the door swung open and she was invaded. With a gasp, her hand flew up to cover her mouth and she watched, wide eyed as her husband rushed into the room followed by several very attractive young men. There were more people behind them but her eyes were caught and held by the one young man in the group that she wasn't acquainted with. This could be none other than Temperence's young man, Seeley Booth.

Miriam could see why Brennan was attracted to him. Tall, dark and very handsome and the way he filled out the sleeveless t-shirt probably didn't hurt, either. On a purely physical level, he was pretty damn yummy (hey, she was older and married, not dead, so can the judgment). He looked absolutely frantic as he pushed rudely past the ambassador and his eyes scanned the room for Brennan. The look of relief that crossed his face when he spotted her sitting on the sofa, still staring at the ceiling told Miriam everything she needed to know about how he felt about Brennan. Pulling her attention back to the group still coming into the room, she belatedly wondered what the hell was going on.

"Is something wrong, Herbert?" she asked her husband. He simply looked at her and gave an exasperated shake of his head.

"We thought Dr. Brennan was missing, Miriam. The embassy has been on lockdown for the last hour and a half while we searched for her," he told her chidingly. Miriam winced a little at her husband's exasperation. There was an alarm that was supposed to go off in their apartment when the embassy went on lockdown but it had kept malfunctioning and she had disconnected it without his knowledge or consent. She figured if something major happened, someone would come to find her and the damned thing kept going off at night and waking her up but she thought that was a conversation best saved for another time.

"Well, she's not missing, she's right here," Miriam returned brightly, pointing toward the sofa then turning her attention back to Booth as he strode toward Brennan. Miriam could clearly see that he had been terrified that something bad had happened to her. After hearing Brennan's version of her latest adventures, Miriam could understand that and he obviously loved her friend very much to invoke such a strong reaction. Suddenly realizing that Brennan might not wish anyone else to witness this little reunion in her present condition, Miriam went into action, shooing the others toward the door.

Manners, of lack thereof, never crossed Booth's mind as he pushed past the ambassador and entered his private apartment. He had to stop for an instant to make sure his knees weren't going to give out on him in his relief when he spotted Brennan safe and sound. He barely glanced at the older woman in the room and was only vaguely aware that she was having a conversation with the ambassador as he approached the sofa. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the way Brennan was sprawled against the back of the sofa, her arms spread wide and her eyes darting over the ceiling, apparently oblivious to his approach.

"Bones?" he asked softly, squatting beside the arm of the sofa. No answer. "Baby, are you ok?" he asked a little more loudly, reaching out to stroke her cheek. She jumped and let out a garbled scream that almost knocked him on his ass. When he regained his balance, he looked back to find her chin now resting atop her folded hands on the arm of the sofa as she beamed at him. _What the hell?_

"Hiya, Booth," she greeted, her voice cheerful and slurred at the same time. With those clues and the smell of alcohol on her breath, he didn't have to ask what she had been doing while he had been going out of his mind with worry for her. She had, apparently, been partying. _He would not let this upset him_, _he would not let this upset him, he would not let this upset him._ _The hell he wouldn't_.

"Are you _drunk?_" he demanded incredulously. Miriam flinched at the quiet roar from behind her, determinedly urging everyone, including her husband out the door. It sounded like Brennan's husband might be just a tad upset with her and Miriam thought she needed to explain since she was technically the one who had gotten her drunk. Quickly whispering that she would explain later to her husband, she shut the door in his face and turned toward her guests with a smile. Neither one of her guests paid her the least amount of attention.

"Mmmaayybbee," Brennan purred, one hand reaching out to languidly stroke Booth's cheek.

"Dammit, Bones, I was worried about you. The embassy was on lockdown and we've been looking for you for almost two hours." Booth was having trouble hanging on to his irritation in his relief at finding her unharmed. It didn't help that she started tracing his lips with her index finger and gave him a wickedly suggestive smile. A loudly clearing throat finally tore his attention away from his inebriated wife and had him glancing up at his hostess. Grabbing Brennan's hand and quickly placing a kiss in its palm, he rose to his feet and faced the older woman, quickly taking stock of her and getting the impression of a well put together politician's wife.

"Agent Booth, I'm Miriam Whitehouse," she held out her hand and Booth was surprised by the firmness of her handshake.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Whitehouse," he returned, ducking his head in embarrassment when he remembered his entrance into this apartment. "I apologize for my rudeness when I arrived." Miriam could definitely see why Brennan was smitten when he flashed her a charm smile.

"I'm afraid it is I who owe you an apology. It's my fault that you searched so long." Seeing his quizzical look, she quickly explained about the dismantled alarm and was relieved to see Booth looking mollified. "Won't you have a seat?" she indicated the sofa with a smile and took a seat in a nearby armchair. She could tell that Booth was eager to grab his wife and get her out of here but she thought he needed to hear a couple of things before he did.

Booth gingerly sat down beside Brennan but was perched on the edge of the sofa until she leaned forward and pulled him back until they were touching from shoulder to thigh. With a sigh, she settled her head on his shoulder and snuggled into his side, closing her eyes. Booth put his arm around Brennan's shoulders, pulled her closer and gently smoothed the hair back from her forehead as Miriam watched. She saw the tender smile on his face as he looked down at his almost sleeping wife and knew that these two would be fine. They might have big troubles now and then but they simply loved each other too much not to work it out. Miriam sat patiently until Booth turned his attention back to her.

"Did you want to talk to me about something, Mrs. Whitehouse?" he inquired politely. Miriam nodded in approval. She liked the direct approach and she was willing to bet that came in useful with Brennan.

"As a matter of fact, I did," she laughed, "but please call me Miriam. I'm afraid that I'm also to blame for Temperence's current condition, so please don't be angry with her."

"So you held her down and forced her to get drunk, did you?" Booth asked with a raised brow, humor glinting in his eyes. Miriam liked this young man more by the second.

"Something like that," she grinned. "Actually, she was telling me about what's been going on with her recently and I sure as hell needed a drink listening to it so I was certain she could benefit from a few after having lived through it." Miriam was a little surprised when Booth threw back his head and laughed at that one. She hadn't been kidding. Brennan jumped at Booth's laughter then snuggled closer and Booth immediately quietened so as not to disturb her and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

Looking at Booth closely, Miriam could see that he was just as physically exhausted as his wife. She knew it was none of her business and he might not appreciate her interference or advice quite as much as Brennan but she thought he wouldn't have a problem telling her to butt out if he didn't want her help. And maybe, just maybe she could help them breach this misunderstanding that was causing Brennan and, no doubt, Booth so much emotional trauma. God knew, with the kind of luck they appeared to have, they could use all the help they could get so she went for it.

"Temperence tells me that tomorrow will be the two week anniversary of your marriage," Miriam said conversationally. Booth's eyes narrowed and he stiffened slightly. Their marriage was a very personal subject to Brennan, one that she would never discuss with strangers or casual acquaintances. Yes, she introduced him as her husband. Sometimes. But her telling this woman any details at all, like tomorrow was their two week anniversary could only mean they were good friends. Nodding his agreement, he took a closer look at this other friend of his wife's that he hadn't known existed. Surprisingly, he felt no resentment over that fact, just a sort of general curiosity about her agenda. Miriam waited for several seconds but Booth didn't respond verbally, he just sat studying her patiently. _Damn, it was just her luck that he would be as taciturn as Brennan_ but Miriam had many years of communicating with reticent people and this was important to her so she pasted a smile on her face and forged ahead.

"I was appalled to hear everything that has happened to the two of you in such a short time," she offered but, again, Booth said nothing. But to be fair, Miriam wasn't entirely sure that he had heard the comment since his attention was focused elsewhere. Brennan was awake and whispering something loudly in her husband's ear. Miriam couldn't quite make out the words but she could guess the content from the way Booth was blushing and avoiding her eyes. With a sigh, she realized that the time for tact and diplomacy was over.

"Agent Booth, I know that you don't know me and, therefore, consider your relationship with Temperance none of my business and normally I would agree with that. But Temperance has become a very dear friend over the past several years. I have seen her after events that would send most people to the loony bin but she was never anything but strong and in control. But today I saw my friend so upset that she was almost completely out of control and I know that is something that she would find intolerable." Miriam saw that she had his full attention now. He held up a finger indicating that he needed a minute, leaned down and said something softly to Brennan who gave him a radiant smile and snuggled her head back into his shoulder, closing her eyes once again.

"So you want to tell me how it's my fault that she's upset?" Booth asked and Miriam was startled to note the resignation in his voice and the weariness that seemed to be increasing by the second in those watchful brown eyes.

Puzzled, Miriam paused to wonder exactly why he was expecting to be blamed for Brennan's upset. After all, in her opinion it was circumstances and general weariness and stress that was more responsible for this situation than anything. Suddenly it hit her why he expected to be blamed and she silently winced in sympathy. She could see this thing from both sides but she seriously doubted that the group of soldiers who considered Brennan their personal property had even attempted to see things from Booth's point of view. She shuddered to think of how that group had treated this young man whom they, no doubt, saw as an interloper and someone less able to protect someone they cared about than they, themselves, were. Oh, she doubted that it had been done with malicious intent, they would simply attack anything they saw as a threat to Brennan and consider it weeding out the weak. But, apparently, Seeley Booth wasn't weak. After everything that he had been through, he was still standing. _Well, good for him_, Miriam thought with a soft inner smile, her respect for Brennan's husband raising several notches.

"No, Agent Booth, I want to tell you that Temperance asked me for some advice and I feel that it's only fair that you know what I told her." Miriam assured him and Booth's eyes narrowed suspiciously. In his experience, one friend didn't offer to tell the object of a private discussion between themselves and another friend exactly what had been discussed. So, what was this woman up to? Not that he wasn't interested in what she had to say, he was very interested. He just didn't want to give Brennan a reason to be even more upset by making her feel like he had stepped over a line with her friend so better not. He knew that he was so tired and stressed out that he wasn't even thinking straight anymore and might regret the decision later but, right now, it made perfect sense.

"Look, Miriam, I really appreciate the fact that you're concerned about Bones' welfare but I'm not certain that she would want me to know what you two talked about so I'm going to have to say no thanks." Miriam was left speechless, a rare state of affairs for her, by his softly spoken refusal but Booth didn't notice. His attention was grabbed by a soft hand cupping his jaw and tilting his head down to look into his wife's sleepy blue eyes.

"S'ok, Booth, she can tell you," she slurred barely able to hold her eyes open.

"Are you sure, Baby?" He asked softly, his hand gently stroking her cheek.

"Mmm," she sighed as her eyes fluttered closed. She slowly relaxed against him and Booth knew she was out for the count.

Miriam watched the tender exchange and almost felt like a voyeur. She didn't think she had ever seen two people look at each other in quite that way in all her years. Oh, she and her husband loved each other very, very much and they looked at each other with love, respect and even lust but these two people looked at each other as if no one else in the entire world was necessary, as if each was all the other needed to make them complete. Miriam felt tears stinging her eyes because that was something you just didn't see every day. Surreptitiously wiping her eyes, she looked back up to find Booth's gaze now focused on her. She could tell that he desperately wanted to know what she had been going to say but he had made his position clear and if he wanted to know now, he was going to have to ask for it.

Booth looked at the older woman in indecision. Even though Brennan had technically given him permission to hear whatever Miriam apparently wanted to say, he couldn't be sure that she would feel the same way when she sobered up. So he studied the other woman trying to figure out what her motivation was. He was a little surprised when she met his eyes squarely and he saw none of the avid curiosity that would have been present in Angela's eyes, he saw only calmness. When Miriam glanced at his now sleeping wife, he saw only respect and caring in her eyes. In fact, there was nothing about the other woman that would make him think she was interested in anything other than offering assistance to a friend in need. He was beginning to like this woman. Relaxing and shifting Brennan into a more comfortable position against him, he made his decision.

"What is it that you would like to tell me, Miriam?" He asked with more warmth and had to give the woman credit when she didn't gloat but simply gave him an approving look.

"It might make you feel better, Agent Booth, to know that I would never break the confidence of a friend. I have no intention of telling you what Temperence shared with me, but I thought you might like to hear the advice that I gave her." Booth thought that over, it actually did make him feel better. Nodding, he gave her a genuine smile and waited for her to continue.

Miriam blinked at the warmth and charm behind that smile. She would be willing to bet that Brennan would have one hell of a lot of women hating her guts when they found out that Booth was permanently off the market. She had to wonder how her outspoken, brutally honest friend would handle another woman making a pass at her husband because she could see that Brennan was extremely possessive and she couldn't imagine the other woman just letting something like that pass without retaliation. _Damn_, she thought, _she would pay good money to be in the general vicinity when that happened and witness the fallout. _She was so distracted by her thoughts, that it took a moment for her to realize that Booth was speaking to her and focus her attention back on him.

"What advice did you give my life?" he asked, laughter lurking in his eyes. Miriam found herself hoping that hadn't been able to read her mind and she actually blushed at the thought. Booth had no idea what the older woman had been thinking about that she had been chuckling quietly to herself so it must have been good.

"I told her to go to bed and stay there for 24 hours. In fact, I threatened to put a guard on her bedroom door to make sure she does just that. And now, I'm afraid, that I must threaten you with the same thing, Agent Booth," Miriam said calmly.

Booth wasn't entirely sure what he had expected to hear, maybe some sort of female epiphany of wisdom but he certainly hadn't expected the advice to be so mundane. _And absolutely right on the money_, he realized. He and Brennan were physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. Their tempers were running high and there was no way they could expect to work things out with them both in this kind of shape. He just couldn't believe it taken an outsider to have the sense to tell them to get some rest.

"You're right," he admitted, giving Miriam a look of respect. He felt the need to talk to someone as much as Brennan apparently had but he just didn't know this woman well enough to open up to her and Miriam could easily see this.

"I also told her that maintaining a marriage is not always about who's in the right and who's in the wrong," she said with intensity. If they were going to be on enforced bed rest for 24 hours and have time to think, they might as well be thinking about the same things. "It's not always even about whether you love someone or not." Booth stiffened as if Miriam was questioning his love for Brennan but the look she shot him assured him that this was not the case and he relaxed and paid attention to her words. "It's about genuinely caring about the other person and respecting them enough to at least try to see things from their perspective and not expecting them to always come around to your way of seeing things. In short, Agent Booth, it's about compromise. You have to decide what things in your life are too important to compromise on and build from there." Booth heard the words and knew they were good advice but he was just too tired to think about it right now. Miriam could see that but the seeds have been planted and she had no doubt they would find fertile soil when the couple was more rested.

"Thank you," he told Miriam gratefully, meaning for the advice as well as being available to Brennan when she had badly needed someone to talk to. Looking down and Brennan as she mumbled in her sleep and wiggled into a more comfortable position, he couldn't help but smile. A few hours ago, he had been ready to slay dragons for his princess but, right now, it looked like he needed to put Sleeping Beauty to bed.

"You're welcome. And, Agent Booth, I'm always around if you decide that you need to talk to someone," she offered softly as he stood up. Noting his injured arm and that he was obviously leaving, Miriam got to her feet and started toward the phone. "I'll call one of the guards to carry Temperence back to your room," she offered briskly only to be stopped by what sounded like a growl coming from behind her. She swung around in surprise.

"No!" Booth almost snapped, scooping Brennan up and holding her tightly against his chest. _Well, well, well, it would appear that Brennan wasn't the only possessive one in that relationship,_ Miriam thought with amusement. "I've got her," he said more softly and Miriam nodded biting her lip to keep from laughing. Seconds later, she had opened the door and he was striding down the hall, his entire attention focused on the sleeping woman in his arms as if she were awake and they were having a stimulating conversation. _It was no wonder they brought such intensity and passion into even their disagreements,_ Miriam thought, closing the door behind her departing guests. Those two would still be looking at each other like that when they were ninety because once a bond that strong had been established no one and nothing could break it unless they let it and she was sure that those two were smart enough to never let it something like that happen.


	39. Chapter 39

**Hey, guys. Sorry for the delay. Musie lost her words for a few days but they are coming back. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please don't forget to review to make Musie feel better. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan's eyes fluttered open as Booth gently laid her down on the bed and her arms tightened around his neck as he tried to stand up. With a sultry smile, she drew his head down and ran the tip of her tongue across the seam of his lips and he couldn't resist parting them to allow her entry, thinking she only wanted a kiss. He was made aware of his error when she deepened the kiss and her hands busily pushed his shirt up, indicating that she wanted it off. He didn't even think about denying her.

"I don't think this is what Miriam had in mind when she ordered us to bed," he teased. Yeah, he knew she needed to sleep, they both did but he wasn't about to push her away no matter how tired he was. In fact, he doubted he would ever be tired enough or stupid enough to do that. He was surprised when she pulled back and blinked up at him a couple of times. He was shocked when she shrugged nonchalantly and rolled over onto her side.

"Ok, if you don't want to, that's fine," she murmured.

"That's not what I said," he growled, pulling her onto her back with a gentle hand on her shoulder to meet laughing blue eyes. _Oh, so she was messing with him?_ Somehow he just couldn't work up the energy to get upset over that. Instead, he decided to help her out. Standing, he removed her shoes and quickly toed off his own, stripping off the shirt and jogging pants he had worn to the gym as she lay there and watched him with sleepy eyes that drooped more by the second. _Poor baby, she really was exhausted,_ he thought as she tried to stifle a huge yawn and force her eyes to stay open to enjoy the show. Turning his attention to her, he efficiently undressed her and slipped her under the covers, sliding in beside her with a long sigh of satisfaction. She snuggled up against his side, laying her head on his chest as his arms went around her and stifled another yawn. "Go to sleep, Baby. I'll be here when you wake up," he urged, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

"Promise?" she asked sleepily.

"I will always be here, Bones. I promise," he told her solemnly, lifting her chin and staring into her eyes as he made the promise.

"'kay. Goodnight, Booth. I love you," she murmured and was out before he could return the words.

"Goodnight, Baby. I love you, too," he returned. It didn't matter if she couldn't hear the words, he never got tired of saying them.

Miriam looked around the living room of her apartment in satisfaction as she studied her assembled guests. After speaking with Brennan and Booth earlier, she had decided that it might be helpful for her to ascertain exactly how well Brennan's former unit was responding to Brennan's marriage and her new husband. And, having them as guests for an informal dinner in her home had seemed the best way to go about it. She knew that these men were very, very important to Brennan and that if they really wanted to, they could cause serious problems between her and her new husband. She knew them all fairly well and didn't think that they would ever do anything to hurt her friend, but they had been responsible for the anthropologist for a long time and Miriam doubted that they could easily just hand that responsibility over to someone they didn't know or yet trust. They were good, honest men, and they cared deeply about the anthropologist, but they were still only men and men didn't always behave appropriately or see the damage they were causing. Miriam really had no intention of confronting these men or interfering in their developing relationship with Booth, she simply needed to gather more information if she was going to help the newlyweds.

She had thought a few polite queries would gain her the information she sought but it hadn't quite turned out like that. The soldiers were all friendly and very, very polite but she had never seen a more closed mouth group when Brennan's marriage was mentioned. Every single one of them just nodded politely and then someone hastened to change the subject. At first, Miriam had only wanted to get some idea of how these men had treated Booth because she had an idea that he might actually come to her for some advice after he'd had time to think things over and get some rest and she was truly a little nervous about that possibility. She seriously doubted that the FBI agent was one to whine about being treated badly by the others but it could certainly have an effect on any advice that she might offer if his relationship with Brennan's boys was part of the problem. Plus, after seeing how differently Booth and Brennan had perceived the same situation, she had thought it only prudent to find out what she could from the others. Finding them all so reticent, it had now become a challenge to find out what she wanted to know and she had never been one to walk away from a challenge.

"Alex," Miriam said with a warm smile as she approached, the handsome young man, "I'm so glad that you could join us tonight."

"Thank you for inviting me, Miriam," he replied. "Is this a special occasion?" He asked sipping the drink in his hand, his green eyes twinkling as if he knew exactly what she was up to.

Miriam had always liked Alex. In fact, despite Nathaniel's obvious feelings for Brennan, Miriam had always secretly thought that if Brennan ever became involved with one of the members of her team, it would be Alex. There was no doubt that the young man was gorgeous. At 6' tall with a hard, muscular body he would have turned heads wherever he went even without the dark blonde hair, green eyes the color of emeralds and his very symmetrical features, as Brennan would have put it. Put it all together and women seemed to find him overwhelming, throwing themselves at him shamelessly and, according to gossip, Alex wasn't acquainted with the word no. Despite all that, Miriam had always felt that there was much more to this young man than the cheerful, womanizing face he showed the world and she knew that Brennan was attracted to that kind of inner depth.

"Now, Alex," she said with a laugh, patting his arm, "it's always a special occasion when your team is in residence. I simply thought that we could all have a nice, friendly dinner together and you boys could tell me all about what has been going on with you lately."

Alex had been afraid of that. He really liked Miriam, especially after the assistance she had given them getting the girls out of the country simply at Brennan's request. But, knowing that she'd had a little chat with Brennan this morning made him think that he and the boys very well could be in trouble with the Ambassador's wife. She was also somewhat protective of Brennan and had let them know on more than one occasion that she was less than pleased with the shape that her friend had been in when they had arrived at the embassy. She had never raised her voice to do it but her disapproval had been clear and chilling. She had also never invited them to dinner to do it before and that made him wonder what the hell she was up to.

"Umm hmm," Alex murmured noncommittally, taking another small sip of his drink. Miriam's eyes narrowed as she saw that he wasn't going to give her anything easily. But that was okay, she had been the wife of an ambassador long enough to know that everyone had a trigger, a button to push that would trigger the release of information. She just had to find Alex's.

"Alex, I'm truly glad that your team came through such horrific events as well as you did," she told him with complete honesty. Alex simply nodded. He knew that Miriam was privy to much more information than she should have been but he still couldn't openly discuss a classified operation with her. Knowing that, Miriam wasn't at all deterred by his lack of response. "So, were you as shocked as I was by Temperence's marriage?" She asked, suddenly realizing that she was going to have to ask straight questions with him to get any answers.

Alex almost choked on his drink as he realized that he and the boys could be in deep, deep trouble if Miriam wanted to discuss Brennan's marriage. He knew that Booth and Brennan were having a rough patch and that it was at least partially his team's fault. Well, it was mostly his fault that the others hadn't exactly thrown Booth a welcome to our team party either, he was somewhat ashamed to admit to himself. He just had to hope that Miriam didn't figure that out and give them all hell.

He gave the question some thought. _Had he been shocked?_ Not so much. But, then again, he'd had more warning than Nathaniel and the others. Unbeknownst to them, he and Brennan talked at least once a week and he had known she was living with her partner, just as he had known she had been in love with the man for years and no one else really had a chance with her. He had even tried to talk to Nathaniel about it quite some time ago but that had not gone well and he hadn't mentioned that she was living with Booth because he hadn't seen the point. The only thing it would have done was hurt his friend and he would never do that which, at first, had been the biggest reason he had never made a move on Brennan himself.

"I was surprised," he admitted. Before Miriam could question him further, the doorbell rang and she excused herself to answer it. Alex was instantly lost in remembering how his relationship with Brennan had developed over the years.

From the first, he had found her argumentative, stubborn as a mule, incapable of doing as she was told, utterly infuriating and so logical that he just sometimes shook his head in wonder. He had also found her brave, brilliant, fascinating, gorgeous, amazing and completely unlike any other woman he had ever known. Despite his reputation, his conquests were not quite as legendary as everyone seemed to believe and he, Mr. Love Them and Leave Them, have been completely smitten from the time that she had rescued them from Perez's henchmen.

He had seriously considered asking her out but he couldn't help but see that Nathaniel had fallen for the anthropologist hard and fast and he wouldn't do that to a friend. At the same time, his brother, Steven, had bluntly told him to stay the hell away from Red, that she deserved better than the way he usually treated his women. By that time, Alex had genuinely liked and respected Brennan and he had to agree with his big brother. Hell, he had fallen a little in love with her on the day that she took a bullet to save his life and those feelings got a little more complicated every time he saw her.

Then she had been captured by Perez and Steven had been killed. Alex knew that Steven had died as a hero but he was the only living relative Alex had with the exception of his niece and he had taken his brother's death hard. So had Brennan who blamed herself despite all their assurances to the contrary. She was devastated but had held it together until they got the girls back to the states.

Then had come Steven's funeral and Alex had seen the most courageous woman he had ever known standing several yards away from the group gathered around his brother's casket in the cemetery. Her eyes had been locked on the casket and he could clearly see the sorrow and grief washing over her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. Managing to catch her eye, he had motioned her to come closer but she had shaken her head, her eyes darting to his sister-in-law with something akin to fear and shame in them and he knew she expected to be blamed for Steven's death by Sara. But Sara wasn't like that. She had married Steven knowing that he was a soldier and that because of his specialized training he often went into extremely dangerous situations where death was always a distinct possibility. Besides, Steven had been killed on a classified mission and Sarah hadn't been given any details so she had no idea that her husband had stepped in front of a bullet meant for Brennan. Without a second thought, Alex had left Sarah's side and gone to Brennan.

"What are you doing all the way over here, Red?" He had asked softly, stopping directly in front of her. "You should be over there with family," he had encouraged and she began to sob softly.

"I can't, Alex," she whispered as tears continued to roll down her cheeks, her face the very picture of torment.

"Okay," he agreed softly. Stepping to her side and facing his brother's grave site, he slipped an arm around Brennan's and shoulders and pulled her against his side, content to stay exactly where he was for the upcoming service.

"What are you doing, Alex? You should go back over there and be with your family," she urged, looking at him with eyes still swimming with tears.

"I _am_ with my family," he informed her, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks. Brennan looked stunned for about 30 seconds then she took a deep, shuddering breath, straightened her spine, finished drying her tears and looked at him with determination.

"Okay, Alex, I'm ready now," she said with barely a quaver in her voice. Alex took her hand and led her to the grave site to stand beside him, Sara and Nichole. She had gently tried to pull her hand away and melt back into the crowd.

"I need you here beside me, Red," he whispered, twining their fingers together, hoping she understood what he meant and she had.

Alex had lost his entire family and felt like he was now alone in the world and that was a feeling that Brennan knew well and a plea that she couldn't ignore. Sarah and Nichole were grieving the loss of a husband and a father but there was no way they could understand the horrors of having seen Steven die in front of him and she would never want them to. Brennan not only understand, she felt an enormous amount of pain and guilt over Stevens death. Maybe she didn't know the depths of Alex's pain but she knew he was grieving profoundly and if she could help by standing there and holding his hand, she would do it until her hand fell off. Alex had barely noticed when the rest of the team, finished with their duties as pall bearers, had joined them. He'd been vaguely aware of the minister starting the service but the only thing they kept him from shouting his rage and anguish was the feel of that small hand gripping his tightly. He knew, without a doubt, that he never would have made it through that service with his sanity intact without her.

After the service, Alex and Sarah had urged Brennan to accompany them back to Sarah's home but that was just too much and she had declined saying that she needed to go back to her hotel and rest. Sarah had an enormous extended family and Alex was sure that every single one of them was packed into her home which was good if they gave her comfort. They were driving him insane. Within a couple of hours, he felt suffocated by the press of bodies and pitying looks being thrown his way. When he caught himself wanting to take a swing at the hundredth person who clapped him on the back and offered their condolences, he knew it was time to get out of there. With a quick goodbye to Sarah, he took his leave and went to make sure that Brennan was okay. She wasn't even close to okay. She was just like him; angry, hurt, guilty, and with no idea how to make the pain stop. So they had grieved together and comforted each other over that devastating loss. Lying on the bed in Brennan's hotel room, they had spent the night sharing their memories of Steven with each other and finally fell asleep around dawn.

Alex had been forced to take some time off and Brennan had needed some recovery time before she went back to her real life so Alex had invited Brennan to spend a week with him at a friend's cabin in the mountains. He had been a little surprised at how quickly she had accepted the invitation until he realized that she needed to get away from everyone and everything just as badly as he did. The invitation had been completely innocent, made as one friend in need to another.

They have been at the cabin less than 48 hours when things began to get very, very complicated. Looking back, Alex wasn't even sure who had made the first move but by the second night, they were comforting each other physically as well as emotionally and they had wound up staying two full weeks instead of the planned one. Alex thought, at the time, that he could stay there for the rest of his life with this amazing woman and be content and he absolutely refused to feel guilty about those idyllic two weeks. Brennan had plainly told him she didn't think of Nathaniel as anything other than a friend, she wasn't even aware of how Nathaniel felt about her and she had told Alex he was obviously mistaken when he tried to clue her in. The comfort they offered each other might have been viewed as inappropriate by some but they were both consenting adults, free to do what they wanted with whom they wanted and they truly cared about each other. They considered that it was no one else's business.

The only thing that had kept Alex from begging Brennan to give them a chance at a long term relationship when they went back to the real world was the nightmares. She had them almost every single night and she always, always woke calling one name and it wasn't his. He had known then that she was in love with her partner and he didn't have a chance of anything long term with her. He had fallen for her a little more every day they had been at the cabin and it had been one of the most difficult things he had ever done to walk away from her when they left. But, if they had continued this relationship, she would have wound up breaking his heart when her idiot of a partner finally got around to seeing how great she was and they would have ended up hurting Nathaniel purely for physical gratification and he couldn't do that. They had agreed that what happened at the cabin stayed at the cabin and that had been that. Not that he had or ever would forget a second of their time together but it had been surprisingly easy for them to slip into a role of deeper friendship without noticeable sexual tension. Alex had, in fact, been surprisingly happy for Brennan when he found out that she and Booth were together because he had known how much she loved her partner and her happiness was the most important thing. That's not to say that he never thought about how things could have been if they had tried to make it as a couple because he did. Thankfully, those thoughts were no longer painful; they were more like a warm celebration of two people caring deeply about each other, memories to be treasured. And now, she was one of the most important people in his life. He would die for her without hesitation because he loved her fiercely on many levels. After all, she was family and in Alex's eyes nothing was more important than that.

"Good evening, General Hood," Miriam greeted politely, "I'm so glad you could join us," she added graciously while giving her husband a what the hell is he doing here? look behind the general's turned back. Miriam hadn't explicitly asked Herbert not to invite anyone else to dinner nor had she explained her plan to him because he had barely arrived home in time to change before the guests arrived. Because she needed to know if her husband had invited more people to make tonight even more difficult for her, she politely excused herself and made a beeline toward her husband.

"Herbert, did you invite anyone else to dinner?" She hissed, pulling him into the dining room where they wouldn't be overheard. Herbert looked a little startled at her tone then his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Miriam, what are you up to?" He demanded, pulling himself to his full height of 5 feet 11 inches and trying to look intimidating. After 30 years together, he really didn't expect it to work but he still gave it the good old college try every once in a while.

"Herbert, dear, what would make you think I was up to something?" she asked softly, stroking his forearm and batting her lashes at him. _Oh, yeah, she was up to something but he didn't really care what, he really liked it when she got all flirty on him and as long as he kept her on the defensive, she would keep getting flirtier._

"Miriam," he tried to make his voice warning instead of amused.

"Now, dear, don't you worry about it," she cajoled with a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'll tell you all about it later," she promised. Before Herbert could answer, the cook from the embassy kitchen, who had kindly offered to prepare tonight's meal, announced that dinner was served. Herbert offered Miriam his bent arm and she graciously accepted and allowed him to escort her into the dining room looking as excited as a small child going to the toy store. Herbert could only smile fondly and hope that she didn't give their guests too hard of a time. Actually, on second thought, he usually enjoyed watching her mess with people tremendously because she was a master. This might turn out to be the most entertaining evening that they had had in quite some time.

"General Hood, how is Patty doing?" Miriam asked politely after everyone had been seated. She had never particularly cared for the spoiled, selfish young woman but she did like and respect General Hood and he loved his daughter.

"She's doing exceptionally well, Miriam. She's out of the hospital now and her doctors assure us that she should have a full recovery." The general was extremely grateful that Brennan had chosen not to press charges against his daughter for kidnapping, even though she had every right to do so. Hood agreed with Brennan's insistence that Patty seek the help of a mental health professional which had already been done. She had been placed on medication and was receiving intensive therapy and his wife informed him that there was already an improvement in her demeanor which the psychiatrist informed them should continue to improve as long as her therapy continued. Hopefully, she would soon be physically and mentally healed enough to face the charges that would be levied against her. Hood could have used his influence and made it all go away but he had come to realize that him having never made her face the consequences of her actions before was at least partially responsible for what she had done and he was determined that that would not happen again. He loved his daughter but this time, she would be facing the music.

"I'm so glad she's going to be okay," Miriam offered sincerely. Herbert added his well wishes for Patty but the soldiers looked like they really didn't care one way or the other until Miriam fixed them with a glare that clearly said they should be ashamed of themselves. They folded immediately and murmured something appropriate very unenthusiastically and Miriam gave them a big smile of approval.

"Gavin, dear, how is your father?" Miriam queried, studying the twins closely, glad they were seated side by side. She could only tell them apart by their personalities but Brennan could tell which one walked up behind her without ever even looking around as could the rest of the team. Miriam found it fascinating that the youngest members of such an elite group had the very same DNA and had been raised in the same environment yet were so very different. Physically they were identical at 6' 1', 210 pounds, light brown hair and grey eyes. They were very good looking young men but their personalities couldn't have been more different. Garrett was very outgoing, always laughing and he was renowned for his practical jokes. Gavin was much more serious, studious and at times seemed much older than his jolly brother.

"He's still a jackass, Mrs. Whitehouse, so he's fine," Gavin answered blandly and Miriam almost choked on her wine. Alex and Grant hid their faces behind their napkins but their snickers were clear. Garrett didn't even try to hide his amusement. The Ambassador and General Hood hadn't heard the question so they had no idea what the others found so funny.

"Touché," Miriam laughed, raising her glass to Gavin in a toast. She thought he was being facetious until she got a good look at his face but one glance convinced her he had meant it and she had to agree. Their father was a power hungry, control freak who had practically disowned his own children when they had rebelled against his rigid rules and refused to follow the preset path he had mapped out for their lives.

"Grant, it's a special treat for you to be here. We don't get to see much of you," Miriam didn't know Grant all that well personally but Brennan had spoken of him often and with enough affection for her to know he was a friend and a real part of this group. Plus, he was the only married one in the group and she wanted to feel him out about offering to listen if Booth needed to talk. She had the feeling that Booth might talk to him more readily than her and she wanted to give the newlyweds every tool possible to work things out before they went back to the real world and got swept up into something else. Before she feel Grant out, General Hood spoke up.

"I'm a little surprised that Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth aren't here, Miriam," Hood told her then turned his attention to the ambassador. "It doesn't matter. I'll send one of the guards for them when we finish dinner and we can get another few hours of debriefing in tonight," he finished placidly and started to eat his salad. _The hell you will_, Miriam thought to herself, appalled that anyone could be callous enough to even consider interrupting the newlyweds tonight for a freaking debriefing. The way she understood it all the freaking bad guys were either dead or captured so it wasn't like it was a life or death situation. She would give subtly suggesting they wait one shot then she would be going for the jugular because those two were definitely not going to get disturbed on her watch.

"I don't think so, general," Miriam winced at the snap in her voice and realized that subtle was already out the window. With a mental shrug, she continued as the six men gaped at her, "Temperence wasn't feeling well and her husband was absolutely exhausted so I sent them both to bed for at least 24 hours so I'm afraid your debriefing will have to wait until they get some rest."

"Miriam, I know you mean well but Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth need to finish this debriefing. A few hours tonight and all day tomorrow should do it then we can send them home and they can rest on their own time," Hood said a little condescendingly as if Miriam's suggestion had little merit. Herbert winced and gave Hood a pitying look as he saw his wife's eyes narrow and her face flush with temper. He shot her a go get him wink and sat back to watch. The soldiers had all seen that particular look on Brennan's face enough to know they didn't want any part of it so they also sat back to watch.

"General, I think what we have here is a failure to communicate," Miriam said with icy politeness. Eyes shooting sparks in his general direction, she held up a hand to stop his response and let him know she wasn't finished. "Perhaps what I should have said is that Temperence is exhibiting symptoms of several very contagious diseases that are prevalent in the jungle where she had just spent the last few days. Now it could very well just be exhaustion considering that tomorrow will be the two week anniversary of her marriage and, from what I can tell, you people have put her and her new husband through hell pretty much since day one." Her gaze fell individually on every man at the table except her husband, making it clear that she considered them all to be culpable for this one.

"Two weeks tomorrow, you say?" asked Hood with a wince. He had known their marriage was recent but he'd had no idea it was that recent. The truth was he hadn't cared how recent it was as long as Brennan did as they asked.

"Yes," snapped Miriam, nowhere near appeased. "Now as I see it, you have two choices. You leave them alone and let them get the rest that they need now, not when they get home or," she, once again, held up a hand to indicate she was not finished when General Hood started to speak, "I can call in Dr. Franklin to examine Temperence. Unfortunately, a lot of these diseases take some time to fully manifest and there is not a specific test to confirm the presence of most of them so she would be forced to put the embassy and everyone in it under quarantine for at least several weeks to avoid a possible outbreak. Now, I don't have anywhere else to be and I would love to visit with Temperence for the next month. But I think you might find it a little inconvenient, General, since I heard you telling my husband earlier that you were taking your wife to Paris next week for your own anniversary," she finished, crossing her arms over her chest and meeting Hood's gaze calmly.

Hood was absolutely appalled that the ambassador's wife was basically trying to blackmail him to get her way, especially in front of his men. _And damn, she wasn't backing down an inch_, he realized as he gave her a glower that usually sent grown men running and she didn't even blink. Okay, he did feel badly when he realized the pressure Booth and Brennan had been under so early in their marriage. _God, no wonder Dr. Brennan wanted to kill someone and she had every right to feel that way._ He'd been married 35 years himself and he still remembered how hard it had been to adjust over the first couple of years. He doubted there were more than a handful of couples on the face of the planet who had faced the obstacles those two had so early on. So he guessed they could wait until tomorrow to finish the debriefing, especially considering what Brennan had done for his daughter.

"Okay, Miriam," he sighed in surrender, "we'll wait until 0800 in the morning to get started." Miriam, who had started to relax at how easily that round had been won, stiffened and looked at him in disbelief. _Was he freaking kidding? Had he not heard a word she had just said?_ _Was she still being too subtle?_ Apparently so but that was easy enough to fix.

"I'm sorry, General, but that's not acceptable either," she just didn't have it in her to be out and out rude but Hood gaped at her as if she had just shouted the words instead of stated them calmly and clearly.

"And I suppose you have an acceptable plan already worked out?" Hood asked crossly.

"Why, yes, General, as a matter of fact I do," she beamed at him in approval for asking the correct question. "I propose that you have the decency to leave them alone to rest and work out whatever they need to work out, however long that may take before you insist on them going over and over the awful things that they have been through in the last couple of weeks." Her voice was firm and she found she could be a little rude without it bothering her at all.

"Now wait just a minute," he sputtered, "we don't have that kind of time to play around with. I'm willing to give them tonight but I have to insist that they debrief at least part of tomorrow." Miriam knew he was just doing his job and trying to save face in front of the other soldiers but it utterly infuriated her that he was willing to ignore a day that would be important to the newlyweds who desperately needed this time for something that could wait. She suddenly found she had no problem whatsoever with being extremely rude.

"You will leave them alone, General," she hissed, leaning forward until he could see the glint of steel in her eyes. "They put their personal lives aside and came over here and risked their lives to get rid of two very, very bad men and the least you can do is give them a little time to process what has happened to them in such a short time. If they choose to stay in that room for two days or two months, _you will not bother them!_ I'm not finished," she snapped when he started blustering. "If you find this unacceptable, please say so now, but know that this embassy will be placed under quarantine before you can get out the front gate and I'm very much afraid that your wife will be going to Paris without you."

"You wouldn't dare," Hood snapped angrily.

"Try me," Miriam invited goadingly.

"I really wouldn't if I were you, General," broke in Herbert, his voice heavy with amusement, "she never bluffs and the doctor has been her best friend for years."

"I'll have your job for these threats," Hood turned on Herbert.

"Go ahead. I'm set to retire in six months anyway and all she's asking is that you do the right thing in the first place. For God's sakes, those two will be lucky to make it through a month of marriage if this is what their life is like. What the hell would it possibly hurt to give them a few days to rest up?" Herbert demanded, getting angry on behalf of his wife as well as Booth and Brennan.

Hood froze at those words and realized he wasn't really against the request, he was simply reacting negatively to his authority being challenged. After everything those two had been through on behalf of their country just because it was the right thing to do, he was thoroughly ashamed of himself for getting in a pissing contest with someone who had the partner's best interests at heart. Herbert and Miriam were both correct, the very least they owed Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth was a few days recovery time.

"You're absolutely right, Miriam," Hood sighed, "they will have however much time they need before debriefing. Please accept my apologies for my rudeness." Miriam searched his face suspiciously and, apparently, saw what she needed to see to reassure her that he meant it. She nodded and relaxed back into her chair and turned to the soldiers who had watched the whole exchange with a type of morbid fascination.

"You four," she started, her gaze moving between them to show she meant business, "will stay away from that room. In fact, I've already had your things moved to a different floor."

"What? No," exclaimed Garrett.

"What if Red needs us?" demanded Gavin. Alex and Grant didn't think it was a bad idea so they kept their mouths shut.

"Temperence has a husband now, boys," Miriam's voice softened as she spoke to the twins. She knew that Brennan had a real soft spot for these two but they were all going to have to learn that things had changed. "It is his responsibility to take care of her now. You boys have done a wonderful job for a long time but now it's time to let her go and trust that her husband can handle whatever comes along." Miriam stifled a laugh as the twins crossed their arms over their chests and their faces took on identical mutinous looks. They looked like pouting five year olds and she thought they were adorable. Alex and Grant were trying not to laugh and Miriam knew they wouldn't give her any trouble. Alex lifted a brow and nodded toward the twins, silently asking her if she wanted him to take care of the twins and she didn't, she wanted to finish this herself. "Boys," she said sharply and they both snapped to attention, "that room is off limits until further notice and I will post armed guards there if I have to. Are we clear?"

"Fine," they snapped simultaneously, glaring at her.

Miriam had to smother the laughter trying to escape, afraid the twins would think she was laughing at them. She wasn't, she was just thrilled that she had bought Booth and Brennan the time they needed to at least begin to work things out so that something precious wasn't destroyed just because everyone was in a hurry and it felt wonderful. She had no doubt they would make good use of the time. They were too smart and too much in love not to work thing out, so she wasn't really concerned that they would split up. She just knew that the longer you let problems fester, the harder it was to eradicate them. She would also dig out any more details that she could tonight and put them to good use, if needed, but the hard part of the night was over as far as she was concerned. Turning back to her guests, she raised her wineglass to propose a toast.

"To Temperence Brennan and Seeley Booth, may we all be lucky enough to find the kind of love they have at least once in our lifetimes." She intoned. Everyone raised their glass and drank to the toast but they all knew how unlikely it was because not one person in the room had ever seen another couple as much in love as those two were.


	40. Chapter 40

**Hey, guys, I have the next chapter for you. I don't say it often enough but thanks to everyone who takes the time to review. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth woke from an erotic dream of his wife hot, hard and ready, a low, long groan rumbling in his chest just as his hard length was encompassed and squeezed by scalding hot, wet tightness. It took him only the blink of an eye to understand that it had been no dream, it was very much reality. He had felt Brennan wiggling and moaning against him as she lay with her back pressed to his chest, her ass grinding against him with every movement and he had been achingly hard in minutes.

He had tried to turn her over but she had moaned her objection and increased the movement of her hips. One of his hands had gone to her breasts, feathering over the already tight nipples, moving back and forth between them so as not to not give one preferential treatment over the other. His other hand moved down her abdomen, through springy, tight curls and found her as ready as he was, stroking her sensitive nub as his lips and teeth attached themselves to her neck and shoulder. With a moan, she had lifted a leg to rest atop his and rolled her hips again inviting him inside and he had gladly taken her up on the offer, guiding his hardness to her entrance. And it was that smooth, sensual slide of his flesh entering hers that had pulled him to wakefulness. Apparently they couldn't keep their hands off each other even when they were asleep. Not that he was complaining. And judging by the sounds coming from her throat, neither was she.

"Are you awake, Baby?" he moaned against her ear, holding still after seating himself fully inside her tight sheath. Her head turned and she caught his mouth in a searing kiss, her eyes dark with desire. That was good enough for him.

"Harder, Booth," she whimpered, trying to get him to move by putting one of her hands on his ass and digging in her nails as she rolled her hips seductively. The hand on her hip clenched tightly and held her in place as he pulled almost out of that moist haven and surged back into her, pulling a strangled scream from her throat. With a growl, his hand left her hip and slid back between her legs to stroke her intimately as her hips ground against him. "Faster, Booth," she pleaded as she tightened her inner muscles and took his mouth again and he gave her exactly what she was asking for. It was hot and hard and over much more quickly than Booth would ever like to admit, then they were both lying sweaty and sated, trying to steady their breathing.

Booth urged Brennan to turn onto her back and she did so with a soft smile of satisfaction on her face and stretched sensuously. He propped his head on his upraised hand and gazed down at her face in the moonlight coming through the window of the bedroom. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that all about?" he asked as he tenderly smoothed the damp hair away from her face.

"Do you know what today is?" she queried, entwining the fingers of her right hand with his and looking at their joined hands instead of his face, not really answering his question.

"Sunday?" he answered facetiously and was immediately sorry for that answer when her shoulders seemed to sag. She was clearly disappointed in his reply. "Could you possibly have been referring to the fact that today is...," a finger beneath her chin tilted her face up and she met warm brown eyes as they came closer and closer, "our anniversary, Mrs. Booth?" he asked softly just before his lips met hers in such an achingly tender kiss that she never wanted it to end. He knew that was the right answer when her arms encircled his neck and she returned the kiss with interest. _God, he could lay here and just kiss her forever,_ Booth thought several minutes later when they had to separate to breathe. He was leaning down to kiss her again when she let out a huge yawn and he saw she was fighting to keep her eyes open. Dropping a quick, hard kiss on her lips, he settled down on his back and hauled her over until she was practically lying on top of him. Brennan propped her chin on her hand atop his chest and looked at him with that cute little furl between her eyebrows that told him she was thinking hard about something.

"What is it, Baby?" he asked, stroking her cheek.

"Booth, I know that anniversaries are important milestones that are marked in a relationship but I am unfamiliar with the correct ritual to mark this specific milestone," she chewed on her bottom lip as she finished and Booth knew she was deadly serious and he felt a wave of tenderness and love wash over him that she was worried because she didn't know what she was supposed to do to celebrate their anniversary.

"I don't think there is a correct ritual for a two week anniversary, Bones," he assured her with a soft smile. "There are certain things that people usually do on anniversaries, but however we choose to celebrate is the correct ritual for us." The look she gave him was full of worry and she was now biting her bottom lip almost hard enough to draw blood.

"Hey, what is it?" His thumb gently removed her lip from between her teeth before she did manage to draw blood.

"Booth, I'm really bad at this," she almost wailed. "I completely forgot our one week anniversary and I wouldn't have known that we should have some type of celebration for this one if Miriam hadn't said something." Booth blinked at her in surprise for a moment. She was sounding so unlike herself and like such a girl that he wasn't sure whether to laugh it off or be concerned. "I know from Angela that presenting you with a gift to show my esteem on our anniversary is important but I don't even have a gift for you. I'm turning out to be a really terrible wife," she moaned, flopping onto her back dejectedly and covering her eyes with an arm. _Okay, now he was concerned_.

"First of all," he said, propping himself up on his elbow and firmly removing the arm covering her eyes, "you're not a terrible anything, Bones." Holding her eyes, he softly continued, "Secondly, I seriously doubt that many people celebrate their anniversaries on a weekly basis. But even if they did, I think you can be forgiven for forgetting considering how crazy things have been since we got married. Thirdly, I forgot our one-week anniversary as well so, if that makes you a terrible wife, then I'm a terrible husband." He was touched when she gasped and immediately shook her head in denial of that statement. She opened her mouth to speak but he placed a finger across her lips and continued. "And last but certainly not least, every single minute that I have with you is a gift, Baby. As long as I have you, I don't need anything else." Brennan looked into those beautiful brown eyes and saw the truth of his words and she felt humbled by the depths of this man's love.

"I'm afraid, Booth," she whispered with tears in her eyes.

"What are you afraid of, Bones?" he queried softly, cupping her cheek gently in a big hand and wiping away an escaping tear.

"I don't know how to be anyone but me, Booth." Seeing that he was puzzled by her words, she struggled to put into words the feelings she had been afraid to acknowledge even to herself up until now. "I'm a scientist, Booth, and you're not." He nodded but she could see that he still had no idea what she was trying to tell him which kind of proved her point that she was very bad at this. "We see the world from entirely different perspectives and that has always been helpful in our work. But, it's not really beneficial in our personal lives." She paused to try and get her thoughts in order and marshal a better explanation than she had managed so far.

"What, exactly, are you trying to say, Bones?" He finally asked after a few minutes of silence. She jumped at the sound of his voice, startled out of her reverie. "What are you trying to tell me, Baby?" He asked, his tone softening even more when he saw the confusion on her face. He could see that she was having a difficult time expressing herself but he had no earthly idea what she was trying to say so he really couldn't help her out.

"I don't want you to be disappointed in me, Booth," she finally mumbled, resting her forehead against his chest. "I don't know how to change myself into someone else," she whispered, "not that I would if I could," she added honestly. "I'm afraid that I'm going to make you unhappy, Booth. Or, even worse, I'm going to make you regret that we're married," she whispered, her voice heavy with misgiving. Booth was dumbstruck that she could even think such a thing but only for a couple of seconds. Brennan gasped as she found herself flat on her back with her arms pinned above her head and her husband looming above her, his brown eyes blazing. Brennan's eyes widened in surprise.

"You are the most infuriating, stubborn, argumentative, rational human being I've ever met," he ignored her stiffening and the way her eyes flashed as he pointed out what could be considered her faults. He didn't necessarily consider them faults; they were simply part of the woman he loved. He covered her body with his and held her in place when she tried to wiggle away in affront, raising an amused eyebrow at the look promising retribution she shot him. He was careful not to hurt her but she wasn't going anywhere, not now, not ever. He didn't even want to acknowledge the knot of fear that had lodged in his chest earlier when she had been telling him how different they were because for one horrifying instant he had thought she was trying to tell him that she didn't think they could make this work and he refused to even consider that possibility. She hadn't been trying to tell him anything of the kind but just the thought had scared the crap out of him and he knew he would do whatever he had to do to make things ok between them, starting here and now. Luckily he only had to tell her the absolute truth.

"Move," she hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes flashing fire at him. _God, she was gorgeous when she was all riled up,_ he thought, reluctantly pulling his thoughts from the erotic path they had taken.

"No," he returned calmly and grinned when her eyes narrowed. He knew he was provoking her but he couldn't seem to help himself. It wasn't often that his Bones lost her cool but she was getting there fast and he found the whole process fascinating and, okay fine, stimulating. Transferring both of her wrists to one of his hands, he used the free hand to cup her jaw and tilt her face up. He dropped his forehead to rest against hers, holding her eyes. He wanted her to hear and fully understand what he was about to say. "I get scared sometimes, too, Baby," he said softly.

"About us?" she queried as she began to relax under him and her eyes softened.

"Yeah," he agreed, his thumb softly stroking her cheek. "I'll tell you about it in a minute but first, I need you to know that you couldn't disappoint me if you tried, Bones. I wouldn't want you to change a single thing about yourself because I love everything about you." He couldn't resist a long possessive kiss. "You awe me with your integrity, intelligence and courage. You're so beautiful that it makes me ache just to look at you sometimes," his teeth nibbled on her lips. "It makes me crazy the way you try to protect everyone you care about, me, my son and your whole extended family regardless of the danger to yourself but it warms my heart the way you love those same people." Another long, deep, possessive kiss and he had to force himself to pull back and rest his forehead on hers once again or this conversation was very definitely going to be interrupted. "You're kind and generous and the only way you could make me unhappy is to not be in my life."

"You weren't all that happy with me earlier today," she told him, a little surprised when he started laughing. Everything he had just said filled her entire body with warmth and tugged on her heartstrings. It had been sweet and romantic and exactly what she needed to hear to reassure her and now she wished she hadn't felt the need to comment because she felt like she had broken the mood. But she was who she was so he should be used to it by now.

"You see there, Baby, that sense of humor is one of the things I love about you," he laughed and she looked at him in confusion because she hadn't been joking. Forcing his amusement aside with difficulty, he addressed her statement. "No, I wasn't all that happy with you earlier today and you weren't exactly thrilled with me," he reminded her. "We're going to have disagreements, Bones. We're even going to have the occasional fight. I hope we get better at working things out before they get to that point but it's unrealistic to think we're always going to agree about everything." She nodded, in full agreement with what he was saying. Releasing her wrists completely, he redistributed his weight on both elbows and cupped her face in both palms. "I thank God every single day for bringing you into my life." His voice was so solemn that it brought tears to Brennan's eyes. "I will never, ever regret marrying you no matter how angry we are with each other. Nothing could ever make me not want to have you in my life and be with you every single minute that I can." His mouth brushed tenderly across her lips just as a sob escaped and her arms wrapped around his neck. "God, Baby, don't cry," he pleaded, rolling to his side and pulling her tightly against his chest, wrapping his arms protectively around her. She burrowed against him, having no idea why she was crying but she couldn't seem to stop. He held her like that for a long time, whispering words of comfort into her ear until she finally quieted.

"What scares you about us, Booth?" she asked, resting languidly against his chest as his hand stroked her hair. Her voice was husky from her tears but she felt much, much better so apparently she had needed to cry.

"A lot of things," he answered quietly.

"Like what?"

"Like your IQ is probably twice what mine is. What if you get bored with me, Bones, and need someone smarter to talk to?" His voice told her he was serious and she was aghast that he could still be bothered by the fact that she was technically smarter than him. _Was that her fault? Had she pointed out how smart she was so often in her attempts to prove she was a suitable mate to give_ him a _complex about it?_

"Booth, IQ doesn't matter," she assured him, raising her head and meeting his eyes. "I get enough scientific discussion at work. To tell you the truth, it's kind of nice not to get it at home too. Besides, you are the most interesting man I've ever met and I'll never get tired of talking to you."

"Yeah?" he grinned at her. If any other woman had said that to him, he would have thought she was trying to flatter him but his Bones had no idea how to do that. She just hit you in the face with the truth.

"Yes," she agreed, nodding her head vehemently. "What else?"

"You're a famous author and make a hell of a lot more money than I do. I can't give you everything you deserve, Baby," he tried to keep his voice light but Brennan could tell that this was a biggie for him. But she had already known that. They had had the money talk more than once. She had suggested they pool their resources and everything become community property and he had hit the roof telling her in no uncertain terms that he would not allow her to support him. That view hadn't softened in the least. Brennan found it frustrating and old fashioned but she had stopped trying to convince him.

"I could always stop writing," she offered without batting an eye. Booth started laughing.

"Bones, did you just make a joke?" he grinned.

"No," she answered solemnly and he saw she was serious. Sitting up, he pulled her up to sit in front of him.

"Explain," he requested very quietly and she was a little afraid that she'd inadvertently made him angry.

"I started writing to satisfy something inside me, Booth. I have come to enjoy it but I don't _need _to do it anymore. Since you and I have been together, I don't feel empty anymore. I have a contract in place for two more books but once that is expired, I'll stop writing if it bothers you that much."

"You're serious?" Booth was stunned. He was actually proud of her ability to excel at anything she attempted and they both enjoyed the perk of getting into any restaurant in town by using her name. It wasn't the writing he objected to as much as the money she raked in because of that writing. He had the usual male need to be the family provider and he had more or less been blowing off steam, knowing there was really no solution. He had never, in a million years, expected her to offer to give up her writing just because he complained. He couldn't let her do that.

"I can't really do anything about the money I already have because I'm just not selfless enough to give it all away." She was rambling and she knew it. She would stop writing before she allowed it to cause friction between her and her husband but she refused to apologize for being successful and wealthy because of it. "I don't understand, Booth," she sighed.

"Understand what?" he asked absently, still trying to take in that she had offered to stop writing because she thought it bothered him.

"If you had more money than I do, you would think that was okay and you would expect me to use your money, wouldn't you?" There was enough moonlight in the room for him to see her big, blue eyes looking squarely. _God, he wanted to be able to say no because he could guess where she was heading with this but he couldn't lie to her._

"Yeah, I would," he admitted. She nodded solemnly and eyed him warily, fairly certain he wasn't going to like what she had to say next.

"Then I need you to explain to me how that would be any different from both of us using my money," she said firmly. Damn, he had known she was going to go there sooner or later and he had no answer to that one because there wasn't one. The only difference would be his pride would be spared if it was his money. He knew it wasn't rational or logical but, dammit, it made sense to him. He refocused on her to find she was still talking, trying to make him see this rationally.

"What did you just say?" he asked quietly, focused on the two words he had caught.

"I said having money isn't a bad thing, Booth. We can use it to provide Parker and our other children with more than just the basic necessities. We'll be able to provide them with whatever educational opportunities..oomph," her words were cut off as he reached out and jerked her against him and proceeded to kiss her senseless. "What was that for?" she asked breathlessly several minutes later.

"It just does something to me when you start talking about our babies," he admitted. "I want to have a baby with you soon, Bones," he said quietly as he smoothed the hair back from her face as she lay across his lap. She shivered at his touch and his words. She had been giving having a baby a great deal of thought and she was definitely ready. In fact, she'd had every intention of bringing it up when they got home.

"Okay," she said simply.

"Yeah?" he asked her with a happy grin and hugged her tightly when she nodded.

"Are those all of your fears about us?" she queried and Booth had to think hard to remember what she was talking about. He was certain there had been a few more but his mind was so filled with pictures of a pregnant Brennan that he couldn't think of a single one.

"Yep," he answered placidly.

"Good, because I need to tell you some things," Brennan purred, pulling herself out of his lap and getting to her knees in front of him. The look she gave him from under her lashes increased his heart rate and the sight of that gorgeous body completely nude and dappled in moonlight brought him to instant, aching hardness.

"What?" he asked absently as his hands reached for her but she shook her head admonishingly and situated him where his arms were extended behind him for support, making sure that she rubbed all over him in the process. "Bones," he growled warningly as she leaned in close enough for her nipples to graze his chest and kissed him aggressively, pulling back quickly and shaking her head when he reached for her again. She patiently waited for him to situate himself back into the same position which he finally did with quite a bit of grumbling and only because he could see this was important to her.

"You gave me beautiful words to tell me how you feel about me, Booth, but all I have to give you is the truth." She sounded a little disappointed about that but put her finger over Booth's lips when he tried to reassure her. "And the truth, Seeley Booth, is that I am the person I am today because of you. You burst into my life and just wouldn't go away. No matter what I did to get rid of you, you kept coming back and I told myself that I wished you would just disappear but I didn't mean it. You made me believe in someone other than myself. You made me trust again for the first time since I was 15 years old, Booth." Her finger was tracing his lips over and over as her eyes held his. Her other hand was tracing patterns on his thigh just as slowly, going very close to but not touching his erection. His gut tightened as he got harder and harder with every teasing movement of those fingers. He desperately tried to concentrate her words, he wanted to hear what she was saying but those fingers were distracting to say the least.

"Stop teasing," he groaned and she looked at the hand on his thigh in surprise as if she hadn't even realized she had been doing it. She removed her hand but gave him such a wicked smile that he didn't expect it to last long.

"You showed me that there was so much more to life than work and you didn't let me continue to bury myself in the lab." He sucked her finger into his mouth, his tongue swirling around its tip and she leaned closer, her nipples rubbing against his chest and becoming hard peaks almost instantly. Booth groaned and Brennan's breath became audibly shorter, "You made me start caring about other people and you taught me how to have fun." Deciding two could play the teasing game, he sat up straight and pulled her between his spread thighs with his hands on her hips until their bodies were tightly pressed against each other. But when he tried to kiss her, she turned her head, knowing she would never finish if he started kissing her like his eyes said he wanted to. She needed to say all of this and she thought he needed to hear it. His mouth opened on her neck and her hips instinctively pressed forward grazing his erection. They both froze with a groan. Cupping his face in her palms, she tilted it up until he met her eyes. "You saved me from myself, Booth and I love you for that. I love your compassion, your sense of right and wrong and your pursuit of justice. I love the way you love me and Parker. I love everything about you and I intend to spend the rest of my life showing you that. I really love your body," she whispered and his laughter was cut off as her mouth landed firmly atop his.

Within seconds, they were in a soft tangle of arms and legs upon the bed, hands and lips seeking those secret places that only lovers know. Whispered words of love and promises for the future flowed from both along with moans of need and sighs of pleasure as they made love with mind blowing thoroughness. And as they fell asleep in each other's arms a long, long time later, they both knew they had just dodged a bullet in their relationship. Oh, they still had some things to work out about what had happened with Perez but, after their talk, they both felt safe and secure in the others love. They also knew that they needed each other, that they were each basically a nonfunctional shell without their heart and soul without the other. After all, something functioned much better as a whole than as separated parts and the bottom line was that apart that's all they were, bits and pieces of the people they were together.


	41. Chapter 41

**Thanks for the reviews and please keep them coming. I need to keep Musie happy with two stories going now so help me out her guys. Please.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

"Booth?" Brennan whispered several hours later after waking from a long nap.

"Hmm?" his chest rumbled under her ear and she smiled, the hand resting over his heart absently rubbing circles on his smooth chest.

"Does this seem kind of weird to you?" she asked softly.

"Does what seem kind of weird to me?" he questioned, his hand stroking her hair.

"This," she gestured to encompass the room and lifted her head to look at him.

"You mean does it seem weird that we're not chasing murderers, no one is trying to kill us and the only people interrupting us are bringing us food?" he asked with a laugh.

"Precisely," she nodded vigorously and he hugged her tightly and laughed at her enthusiasm.

"I guess it's a little weird, but in a good way. After everything that's happened lately, we need some time to ourselves," he assured her, "besides, it gives me the chance to ravish you to my heart's content," he finished with an exaggerated leer just as her stomach growled loudly. He just then noticed that he was also very hungry and it was no wonder. They'd had breakfast but had been too busy to bother with lunch and it was fast approaching dinner time. "How about you call down and get us some food and we'll get a shower?" he suggested after another hug.

"I thought you wanted to ravish me," she teased with a flirtatious grin.

"Oh, I do," he assured her, cupping her cheek in his hand and gazing deeply into limpid blue pools, "but we both need some fuel for what I have in mind so it will have to wait until after dinner." Brennan shivered at the husky tone of his voice, suddenly looking forward to dinner being over. Booth raised his head and gave her a quick kiss. "Get a move on," he ordered briskly with a smack to her rump. Her narrowed eyes promised retaliation and he laughed and hugged her again. "God, Baby, you make me happy," he sighed into her hair and she melted against him.

"You make me happy, too, Booth," she returned breathlessly. He was squeezing her so tightly her back hurt and she could barely breathe but she didn't care, she just loved being in his arms like this. He finally released her and allowed her to roll away so that she could reach the phone, his eyes following every movement as if he never wanted to let her out of his sight again.

"They said it will take about an hour," Brennan said as she hung up the phone and returned to her previous position sprawled across Booth's chest. She was hungry but she could wait. "Do you want to take a shower now?"

"In a minute," his hand absently smoothed up and down her back. "Baby, I don't want you to stop writing," he said suddenly and Brennan sat up to look at him in confusion.

"I don't understand," she said simply and waited for him to make her understand. Booth smiled because that act showed her absolute faith in him. As far as she was concerned, he could make her understand anything and that made him feel wonderful and bad at the same time. Wonderful that she trusted him so much and badly that he had been such an overbearing jerk earlier. He wasn't sure he could explain this without making himself sound like an ass but he had to try.

"I don't have a problem with you writing, Bones," he began then paused to get his thoughts in order.

"So it's all about the money?" she queried without inflection, surprising him with her insight.

"Yeah, Baby, it's about the money," he admitted.

"I think I understand." She nodded absently and he raised a brow and motioned that she had the floor, interested to get her take. "You had a very traditional upbringing from the aspect of the male being the family provider. It's only natural that you would feel it was your duty to provide for your own family. In addition, your alpha male characteristics make it difficult for you to accept financial assistance from your wife." Booth's eyes widened because she understood perfectly. "And I could understand your problem with that if I was slinging my money about," she broke off and frowned at his snort of laughter, not at all amused. She considered this a serious issue because he had seemed so serious about it every time they had discussed it before.

"I'm sorry, Baby. It's throwing your money around not slinging your money about." She relaxed when she realized her was laughing at what she'd said not at her or the subject matter. "Please continue," he cajoled with a grin. With a regal nod, she did just that.

"Booth, I've been responsible for myself for most of my life and I don't feel that it's right for you to assume financial responsibility for me just because we're married when I'm perfectly capable of contributing to our finances. I can't deny that I like having the financial freedom gained from my writing but the money itself isn't really important except that it will be there if we need it." She was getting frustrated because she wasn't really saying what she wanted to and she didn't know how. Pausing and thinking hard, a smile lit her face as the perfect words came to her. "I don't understand why we can't be partners in this just like we are in everything else."

_Damn, when she hit the nail on the head, she really drove it home_. Booth had to admit that everything she had just said about his upbringing was absolutely correct. He already knew that she didn't throw her money around. She had a great car but it had been a gift from her publisher. She lived in a good building and that wasn't cheap but it certainly wasn't flaunting her wealth either. No, she didn't flaunt her wealth, she used it to help the underprivileged and needy and he knew she would never lord it over him because she was rich. She just wasn't that kind of person. And that last statement really got to him because she was absolutely right. They had promised to be full partners in all things and he was letting his pride get in the way, which was something he needed to get under control and deal with himself, he shouldn't make it her problem.

"You're right," he admitted, taking one of her hands and intertwining their fingers, "I was brought up to believe the man should be the family provider. I don't know that I will ever be completely comfortable that you have the kind of income that you do but I will try," he vowed, looking into her eyes. Brennan searched his gaze and she finally nodded, knowing that this was a huge concession for him. It was more than she had expected, even more than she had dared hope. "But," he said sitting in taking her face between his hands, "I need you to promise me that if you ever stop writing it will be because that's what you want to do not because you think it's what I want." Brennan had no problem making that promise since she now knew that her writing was not a bone of contention between her and Booth.

"I promise," she said solemnly, leaning forward to wrap her arms around him and hug him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged back. After several minutes, they broke apart and grinned at each other.

"I really want to get a shower before dinner," Brennan reminded him, crawling out of bed and heading for the bathroom. "Are you coming?" She asked with a sultry look thrown over her shoulder.

"Nag, nag, nag," he teased, crawling out of bed and following her. "We've been married two weeks and you've turned into a nag." She threw him a confused look over her shoulder.

"I don't know what that means," she admitted.

"You don't know what a nag is?" He sometimes had difficulty believing the gaps in her knowledge. She reached in and turned on the water in the shower then turned to face him with narrowed eyes and her hands on her hips.

"Yes, Booth, I know the definition of a nag but I'm fairly certain that you didn't just call me a broken down, old horse on our anniversary." Her tone said that he had damned well better not have just done that. Booth couldn't hold back his laughter at the attitude she was giving him and at how quickly she had learned how to use anniversaries as ammunition. Her eyes narrowed further and Booth laughed harder.

"You were being facetious?" She finally realized but he was laughing too hard to answer her so he just nodded. With a look of disgust, she got into the shower and closed the door muttering under her breath and leaving him alone with his laughter.

Twenty minutes later, Booth had soothed his disgruntled wife and was showered and dressed waiting on the food to arrive while Brennan dried her hair. At the knock on the door, he sauntered over and opened it only to raise a brow at what he saw.

"This is for you, Sir." An older gentleman with a heavy accent that Booth couldn't really place handed him a sealed envelope. Quickly tearing it open, he pulled out the note inside and began to smile as he read.

_Agent Booth,_

_I realize that I'm interfering in things that don't really concern me and I hope you will forgive my presumption. I very much wanted to give you and Temperence a special night because you two certainly deserve it and I thought tonight would be the perfect night to do that. Please accept it in the spirit of friendship in which it is offered. If you could distract Temperence for 10 minutes or so, the gentleman who gave you this note will set things up and then leave you in peace to enjoy your time together._

_General Hood has agreed that your debriefing can be postponed indefinitely and I have had the boys moved to another floor. I can guarantee you no interruptions as long as you wish it to remain that way. Think of it as a belated honeymoon and take a few days. Get some rest and talk things out because, believe me, the kind of issues you two have to face won't just go away and will only be compounded if you let them sit and stew. If you work them out now, you can go home and start your life together with a clean slate. Again I apologize for the interference. Happy anniversary, Agent Booth, and please extend my wishes for a happy anniversary to Temperence._

_Miriam_

Booth had been feeling a little badly that they were so far from home today. If they had been back in DC, he liked to think he would have had the sense to take his wife out somewhere nice and make today special and he was touched that Miriam cared enough about Brennan to want to do that for them. Stepping back, he opened the door and gestured for the horde of staff outside to come in, keeping an ear open for the blow dryer in the bathroom. "Do what you need to do," he told the man in charge, "I'll just go keep Bones occupied."

"Very good, sir," the man politely told Booth then turned and quietly began barking out orders. Feeling amused and dismissed at the same time, Booth reentered the bathroom and closed the door just as Brennan turned off the hairdryer. Smiling at him in the mirror, she ran a brush through her hair. Walking up behind her, Booth slid his arms around her waist.

"You smell good," he murmured, bending his head and nuzzling her neck. "You taste good, too," he whispered as the tip of his tongue darted out to touch the silky skin of her neck.

"What are you doing, Booth?" She moaned, tilting her head to the side to give him better access. She could have sworn she had heard someone at the door and that could only mean that dinner had arrived and she was starving.

"I'm distracting you," he answered honestly, his teeth nibbling on the side of her neck and moving toward her ear.

"From what?" She gasped as he took her ear lobe between his teeth.

"It's a surprise," he whispered directly into her ear sending a shiver down her spine.

"What is it?" She asked in his eyes met hers in the mirror. Seeing the excitement in her eyes at the thought of a surprise, Booth found himself fiercely grateful to Miriam for thinking of this and making it happen. Brennan hadn't had a lot of happy surprises in her lifetime and Booth vowed then and there to make sure that there were many, many nice surprises in her future. Spinning her around to face him, he lowered his forehand until it touched hers.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?" He asked softly, his arms encircling her and pulling her close. She gave him a measured look from beneath her lashes and Booth could have laughed because he knew exactly what she was thinking. Brennan absolutely hated not knowing something and she had been known to go to extreme lengths to get information out of him before. Admittedly, he generally caved and told her whatever she wanted to know but not this time. She could do her worst but he wasn't giving up the surprise.

"I don't mind if you tell me now," she whispered huskily, her hands slowly spreading across his chest and sliding upwards until her arms were wrapped around his neck. "You know you want to tell me," she cajoled, going up on tiptoe and brushing her lips against his.

"Not this time, Baby," he whispered fighting back a laugh at her disgruntled expression. Her expression changed to one of determination and he knew that he was definitely going to enjoy her efforts to extract information. Her features softened into a sultry smile and he was drawn into sparkling blue eyes as one hand slid into his hair and pulled his head down. Her lips opened beneath his and her tongue darted out to trace over his lower lip. With a groan, his hand speared into her hair and he took control of the kiss. Within seconds, they had both forgotten about what Brennan was trying to find out as they got lost in that special magic that happened when they touched each other.

Booth had no idea how much later it was that a knock sounded on the bathroom door and from the strength of that knock he got the impression it wasn't the first time. Reluctantly pulling away from the clinging arms of his wife, he had to clear his throat a couple of times before he could respond. "Yeah?"

"We're finished, Agent Booth," called a familiar accented voice, "I hope that you and Dr. Brennan enjoy your dinner."

"Thank you," Booth called back with real gratitude in his voice. Looking down at Brennan, he smoothed the hair back from her face, dropped a quick kiss on her lips, took her hand and led her to the bathroom door. Opening the door, he motioned for her to precede him back into the bedroom.

Brennan took three steps and stopped in her tracks with a gasp. Booth bumped into her and looked around wide eyed. Their bedroom had been nice before but in the last 10 minutes it had been completely transformed. The plain white cotton sheets on the bed had been exchanged for black satin and the covers were turned back invitingly. There were rose petals scattered across the sheets, their deep red color glowing against the darkness of the sheets even in the subdued lighting of the hundred or so candles that had been placed strategically around the room and lit. There was a huge vase containing at least six dozen roses in every shade of pink that Booth had ever seen sitting on one of the nightstands. Brennan turned to him with a look of wonder in her eyes.

"How?" She whispered.

"I wish I could take credit, Baby, but it's not my doing." She leaned back against him and he slipped his arms around her waist. "I think Miriam may be our fairy godmother," he whispered as his chin came to rest on her shoulder. To his surprise, she nodded and not one word about fairy godmother's being fictional crossed her lips. "Are you hungry?" And her nod, he took her hand and led her toward the table that had been pulled out into the middle of the room. It, too, had been transformed. A beautiful, linen tablecloth covered the small square table and it has been set with the very best china and the finest crystal that the embassy had to offer. Silver candlesticks held lit tapers and cast a soft glow over the table. There was a bottle of champagne sitting in an ice bucket chilling as well as a good bottle of wine that had already been opened to allow it to breathe. Booth pulled out a chair and gallantly seated his wife. Lifting a hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss to the back of it and looked deeply into her eyes, the look of happiness and contentment shining there making this a moment that he wanted to carry in his heart for the rest of his days. "I love you, Baby," he said softly. "Happy Anniversary."

"I love you, too, Booth, and happy anniversary to you as well." She couldn't control the wobble in her voice and a single tear slid down her cheek. Booth squatted down beside her chair and tenderly cupped her jaw in his big hand, wiping away the tear with his thumb.

"Hey," he said softly, "no crying on anniversaries. It's one of the official anniversary rules, you know," he assured her. Her look clearly said that she didn't believe that for an instant but it got a soft laugh out of her. "I thought you would like this, Baby, so why the tears?" Her eyes dropped briefly to where her hands twisted in her lap and she pressed her lips together to get herself under control.

"I never thought I could be this happy," she said softly raising her eyes to look directly into his and everything that she felt for him blazed in her eyes and he was awed and humbled by the emotions he saw swirling there. "I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love you, Seeley Booth." Her hand came up to cup his cheek and his hand came up to cover it and press it against his cheek.

"I never knew it was possible to love anyone like I love you either, Temperence Brennan Booth," he returned with complete sincerity. "You make my bad days good and my good days fantastic. You are the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think of when I go to sleep at night. You don't just make me happy, Bones, you make me whole. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you every single day." Booth was almost knocked backward when she threw her arms around him and buried her face against his neck, sobbing. Standing, he picked her up and sat down in the chair with her on his lap. "Shh," he whispered, stroking her hair gently, "remember the no crying rule," he teased, but her tears continued. "Shh, Baby, please don't cry," he pleaded. He knew these were good tears instead of bad ones but he still couldn't stand to see her cry.

In desperation, he tilted her face and followed the trail of tears down her soft cheek with his lips. By the time he reached her mouth, it was open and waiting for him and her tears had stopped. Fitting his mouth to hers, he tried to convey everything he felt for this remarkable woman in that one kiss. It was the most amazing kiss of his life. They had already belonged to each other body and soul but it felt like with that one kiss they made an even deeper connection, that the bond between them grew even stronger, more intense, more indestructible, that they became even more a part of each other. Breaking the kiss and pulling back only because of lack of oxygen, Booth looked deeply into Brennan's eyes and instinctively knew that she had felt exactly the same things that he had during that kiss. He couldn't read her mind or anything like that but he could sense what she was feeling just by looking into her eyes and he was fairly certain the same was true for her.

"Wow," he said softly. Looking down into her radiant face as she lay relaxed in his arms, he knew that if he didn't immediately turn their attention to the waiting food, he would be carrying her straight to bed. His body was demanding to find out if that kiss had changed how they responded to each other sexually. Trying to be a gentleman, he stood and tried to put her back in her chair but she refused to let him go.

"Take me to bed, Booth," she whispered against his mouth as her arms tightened around his neck.

"What about dinner?" He moaned as her mouth did naughty, delicious things to his.

"It will wait." She whimpered as one big hand spread between her shoulder blades pressed her chest tightly against his, flattening her aching breasts against a hard wall of muscle. He was convinced.

Without breaking contact with her mouth, he carried her over to the bed. She had chosen to don a white cotton robe after her shower rather than dress and that was quickly discarded then Booth laid her down. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life than his wife lying amid the rose petals on satin sheets. He stood back up to discard his own clothing but his eyes never left Brennan, tracing every familiar hill and valley of that beautiful body. His eyes returned to hers only to see that she was looking at him the same way, her eyes tracing the hard planes of his body and the heat he saw flaring in their depths brought him to full attention. Meeting his eyes, she held out her arms and he gladly went into them. And together they found out that one kiss had apparently changed every aspect of their relationship as they made love tenderly, their bodies more in tune with each other than ever before. They reached new levels of need and satisfaction again and again. Long after the food had grown cold and the candles had burned themselves out, they still lay upon satin sheets wrapped around each other sharing themselves so fully that even their heartbeats were in synch.


	42. Chapter 42

**Well, it's about time for this one to end. I find myself in the position of being absolutely unable to turn this couple loose so there will be a sequel. I hope you guys are okay with that. Please keep the reviews coming. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan stretched lazily, caught in that moment between sleep and wakefulness and felt absolutely fantastic. She was well rested but then again she should be after three days in bed. Miriam had ordered them to bed for 24 hours but it had stretched out to three days while they took a belated honeymoon. To tell the truth, Brennan would have been happy to spend the next month in this room with her husband but they had agreed on three days because they both knew they had to return to the real world sooner or later and they were both eager to finish up here and go home and really get started on building their new life together.

"Good morning," Booth said softly in her ear as he shifted her away from his chest and rolled her over onto her back to bestow a kiss on her that made Brennan think one more day in bed for them sounded like a wonderful idea.

"Good morning," she returned breathlessly as he grinned down at her. "Is it time to get up already?" she queried as her hand ran through his hair.

"We don't have to get up until we want to, Bones. We can stay here as long as you like," he assured her tenderly.

"I know," she sighed, "but I want to go home. I miss Parker and I know you do, too, so I guess we really do have to get up today." Booth couldn't help but laugh at her disgruntlement.

"We should be able to finish up here today and on a plane headed home tomorrow," he soothed, his hand rubbing circles on her abdomen.

"Booth," she said quietly and he could feel tension invading her body.

"What?"

"We still haven't talked about what happened with Perez," she almost whispered. She didn't really want to talk about it because she was afraid of where it would lead but Booth had shown her Miriam's note and she was trying to adapt to being a wife and do as the note suggested.

For the last three days, they had lazed in bed, making love as the mood struck them and talked about things she had never even considered telling another living soul, even Booth. She had talked about the horrors of being abandoned by what she had viewed as a warm, loving family and being thrust into the unpredictable and sometimes uncaring foster care system. Brennan understood the need for the system but based on her experiences, she would never recommend it. She had been unlucky enough to have been moved frequently because everyone thought she was strange and none of the foster parents had ever tried to get close to her and get to know the scared young girl hiding behind the logic and the attitude. This was ok with her because she actually shuddered at the thought of some of the foster care fathers getting closer to her. The way some of them had looked at her had given her the creeps and she'd had enough self preservation to stay far away from them or to get herself moved when it looked like that wasn't going to work a couple of times. Unfortunately those incidents had labeled her a troublemaker and she had been moved from one bad home to the next. Barely able to stand it but unable to do anything about it, she had drawn deeper and deeper into herself and built a wall around her heart to protect herself from further hurt and that wall had held until Seeley dismantled it brick by brick.

Booth had held her in his arms and listened to her horror stories and his heart had broken at the pain that scared, lost little girl had gone through. His understanding for her need to always be in control had grown by leaps and bounds and he found himself furious with her father and brother for putting her through that. No matter the reasons, no child should ever be abandoned to that fate. It just went to prove what a good person she was that she had been able to forgive them because he wasn't sure he ever could.

She had held him and shed the tears he'd never been able to as he shared what life with his father had been like. Her heart ached for his pain and she was fiercely glad that his grandfather had been there for him. She knew what it was like not to have anyone when your life sucked and she wouldn't have wanted that for her Booth. He told her about being captured and tortured when he was a soldier and she was horrified and sickened at what people are capable of doing to each other but she listened because he needed to tell her about it. Inside that room, it was as if they were cocooned in a safe, wonderful world with themselves as the only occupants and they felt the need to share the very essence of themselves with the other. They had talked about just about everything else but both had avoided the subject of Perez like the plague, afraid to spoil this precious time together in case they had another fight.

"I'm not sure what there is left to say, Baby," he admitted, easing onto his back and pulling her head down onto his chest.

"I should have talked to you about my plan," she admitted out of the blue and his eyebrows rose.

"Why didn't you?" His hand softly stroked her hair. He was fairly certain of the answer but he wanted to make sure. She snorted against his chest and he bit back a laugh.

"You would have stopped me and I couldn't allow that," she answered honestly. "But if I had it to do over again, I like to think I would come to you and we would figure it out together." Booth was stunned at the words and the conviction behind them. It wasn't like his Bones to second guess herself and a concession like she had just made was unheard of. Tangling a hand in her hair, he turned her face toward his.

"Really?" he absolutely beamed with approval and she let it wash over her in a warm glow.

"Really," she nodded, propping her chin on his chest. Maybe this being a good wife wasn't going to be so hard, after all.

"I understand why you did it," he admitted, "but I'm never going to be okay with you deliberately placing yourself in danger no matter the reason." He had to be honest, even if it made her angry. Somewhat to his surprise, she looked thoughtful instead of angry.

"I can accept that since I feel the same way about you being in danger," she confessed. "But, Booth, I knew that if anything went wrong, you would come and get us." Booth was stunned at the words.

"What? How could you possibly know that, Bones?" he demanded. She shrugged nonchantantly.

"You would never let anything happen to me, Booth," she scoffed. Her blue eyes met his and he was shaken by the absolute trust in them. She believed what she was saying with all her heart and he was going to do his best to make sure he never, ever let her down. Brennan didn't understand what she had said to make Booth look at her with such tenderness but she definitely liked it.

"So are we good now?" she asked quietly. Booth didn't have the words to tell her how good they were but he did have one more thing to add about the Perez situation.

"Baby, I'm not going to demand that you promise me to never do anything like that again but it would certainly save me a lot of worry if you could give me some reassurance," his eyes held hers as his hands stroked the hair back from her face. Brennan saw this was very important to her husband and she had thought about this several times over the last three days so she had come up with what she hoped was an acceptable compromise.

"I promise that, if possible, I will discuss it with you before I taunt a mass murderer to come after me again." That wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind but she looked so pleased with herself that Booth had to laugh.

"I'd feel better if you could promise me you'd discuss it with me before you put yourself in any kind of danger again," he told her solemnly.

"Would you settle for I'll try?" she asked after several seconds thought and Booth finally nodded, knowing she would keep her word no matter what. Her head drifted back down to his chest and his hand continued to stroke her hair.

"Booth, have the boys been awful to you?" she asked, surprising him with the question. Looking down at her face, he was surprised by how upset she looked at the thought and he took the time to consider it. He and Nathaniel had had problems for obvious reasons from the first but he was certain those had been worked out. _Had any of them really been awful to him? No_, he had to admit, _they hadn't_. They hadn't welcomed him with open arms but, then again, no elite military unit would, not until he had proved his abilities. They had actually treated him much better than a new recruit assigned to an established unit would have fared. Most of his problems with the boys came into play because of their protectiveness of his wife. He wanted them to back off and let him take care of her and they wanted her to be safe. Booth was certain that it wasn't him personally they objected to as much as they simply didn't trust anyone else to protect her like they could. He wasn't entirely sure it was a winnable situation because they all basically wanted the same thing but he knew these men were important to his wife and he was willing to make the effort to come to an understanding if they were.

"No, Baby, they haven't been awful, they just want you to be safe," he reassured her and she looked relieved. "I do have to tell you, though, Bones, that I think the twins would benefit from regular visits to Sweets," he suddenly remembered the ride from hell trapped in a hummer with the arguing pair and felt she needed to know that they were obviously unstable if she hadn't already figured it out. She apparently didn't know because she was immediately insulted on behalf of the twins.

"Why would you say something like that, Booth?" she gasped, pushing herself off his chest and sitting up, pulling the sheet up to cover her bare breasts. His eyebrows rose at that telling move. She was really upset at his comment.

"Bones, those two are definitely unstable. You wouldn't believe how awful a 20 minute ride with them is and then…," he stopped and looked at her in confusion as she began to laugh. "What's so funny?" he demanded as she laughed so hard she wound up sprawled back across his chest.

"I'm sorry," she gasped out between giggles. "They're not unstable, Booth. It's just something they do sometimes, usually when someone is really upset. They've done it to me, too, so I know that it very effectively diverts your attention from whatever you're upset about. Were you upset about something during that ride?" Her laughter subsided and she watched his face. _Yes_, Booth remembered, _he had been very upset during that ride and the twins' antics had diverted his attention._ _They were just lucky he hadn't had a gun or he would have gladly shot them at the time._

"Yeah, I was upset," he admitted.

"They were just trying to help," Brennan assured him. "You should suggest they see Sweets," she told him playfully, "they'll think it's funny."

"Tell me about your boys, Baby," he said softly, for the very first time wanting to know more about them as people.

"What do you want to know?" There were actually several things Booth had been wondering about.

"Why did you deliberately piss Nathaniel off when he got shot?" Brennan leaned in until her lips were touching his ear, a conspiratorial look on her face.

"Nathaniel gets kind of whiny when he gets shot," she whispered so softly he had to strain to hear.

"Really?" he drawled wide eyed as she pulled back and she nodded solemnly. "Good to know," he grinned. She waited for the next question, willing to tell him anything he wanted to know.

"How did a Seal get mixed up with this bunch?"

"Grant and Nathaniel have been friends for years." Brennan knew a lot more about Grant's past but she didn't feel like it was her story to share. Booth could see that and didn't press. He had a feeling there was real tragedy in the big man's past.

"You told me how the girls ended up with Grant and his wife but I've always wondered how they ended up with the names Jennifer and Chloe. Those just don't seem like traditional names considering their parentage." Booth was trying to avoid the subject of Alex as long as possible but Brennan looked pleased that he had asked about the girls and he was genuinely curious.

"They're not," she said quietly. "I can't tell you their real names," she told him and grinned at his look. He looked highly insulted as if she wasn't willing to trust him with that information and that wasn't it at all. "Anthropologically speaking, in cultures that are cut off from the mainstream, religious beliefs can become very unique to that specific culture. In the girls' case, they were taught that if you speak the names of the dead, then you raise that person's spirit from the dead and that is a very bad thing. We knew we would have to change their names to hide them from Rodrigo or anyone else looking for them so when Gena started working with them, she told them that. According to JJ, this is almost unheard of in their culture. To their people, when you change your name, the person you were before the name change is effectively dead and it would only be considered after a very great tragedy which was fitting in their case." Brennan had to stop and get control of her voice. She remembered those days of little girls who had been terrified of their own shadows. She remembered her own capture by Perez and Steven's subsequent death. Those had been very sad days for them all.

"You don't have to tell me anymore," Booth soothed, hugging her tightly, actually feeling the sadness in her heart as she thought about those days.

"No, it's okay," she smiled softly, safe and secure in his arms. "Gena decided it would be even more traumatic for them to force them to give up their identities so she gave them the choice."

"How old were they?" Booth asked in surprise.

"We're not entirely certain, since they had no birth certificates and their entire village was dead, but as closely as we could tell they were 4 and 6. I happened to agree with her on that one, Booth," she confided. "I know what it's like to be helpless with someone else making life changing decisions for you and I don't think it matters what age you are. You still feel powerless and angry." Booth had to agree. He had enough scars from his childhood to know that was true.

"At first, the girls were reluctant to give up their names because those were the only things they had left. But, when Gena and Grant told them they wanted to adopt them, the girls voluntarily decided to change their names so they could start a brand-new life as a family. We were able to find out enough about the name changing ceremony their village practiced to be able to perform it for the girls as soon as they chose their new names." This was actually a pretty brief explanation for the weeks of research that she had done to make sure that the ceremony for the girls was authentic. She had done it gladly because at the time, Brennan had felt that that was the very least she owed those two little girls. She still felt guilty about what the girls had lost and knew that she always would but she could, at least, take comfort in the fact that they were happy, healthy, well-adjusted little girls with bright, promising futures in front of them. She also liked that she was able to keep in touch with them and see them whenever she chose.

"It's not your fault their family died, Baby," Booth soothed.

"I know that here," Brennan said, softly guiding Booth's finger to her forehead, "but it's hard to remember it here." She drew his hand down and placed it over her heart.

"How about if I remind you that it's not your fault whenever you forget?" Booth asked softly. Brennan looked at him with love and gratitude shining in her eyes because she knew that he would do exactly that. Any time the memories got to her and she started doubting and blaming herself, Booth would be there to pull her back from the edge and remind her that it wasn't her fault.

Booth knew he had put off talking about Alex long enough. He owed his wife an explanation for what she had almost interrupted in the gym between the two men. "I'm sorry I almost broke my promise to you and hit Alex," he sighed, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm not angry about that," she assured him hurriedly."I understand that you were angry with him, Booth. I even understand why but he shouldn't be punished for something that I talked him into doing. Although, I wouldn't have blamed you at all for hitting him with the way he was taunting you that morning." Booth had to laugh at her tone of voice that said she would have slugged Alex herself if he had been acting like that and that she definitely intended to have a little chat with him about his attitude. Brennan wasn't sure how she had gotten lucky enough to have this man in her life but she was thankful and she needed him to know that.

"I care about every member of my former team, Booth," she said quietly, looking deeply into warm, brown eyes. "But if I have to choose, I choose you. I will always choose you," she stated solemnly.

Booth felt an intense wave of emotion wash over him at her words and his laughter deserted him. His heart ached with love for the woman lying in his arms. She made him feel 20 feet tall and invincible with her absolute faith and loyalty and just those words wiped away any remaining resentment he was harboring against her little band of protectors, even Alex. Oh, he and the other man still had a few issues to work on, but he wasn't nearly upset enough with any of them to ask Brennan to cut them out of her life for good. She might not see them all that often but she considered them more family than friends and he knew that it would cause her emotional pain to no longer have them in her life. She had lost enough family already in her lifetime and he wouldn't be responsible for her losing more.

"Alex and I will work things out without resorting to physical violence," he promised solemnly, easing her over onto her back and leaning closer. "And just so you know, I will always choose you, too, Bones," he whispered as his lips met hers in a kiss that was reminiscent of the one they had shared on their anniversary. It was a vow from both of them, sealing the secrets they had shared with each other and the promises they had made over the last three days and they both knew they would never again be afraid to discuss something with the other. _They were really beginning to get the hang of this marriage thing,_ Booth thought, just as Brennan's tongue leisurely entered his mouth and he lost his ability to think at all. With a soft groan, he deepened the kiss and pulled her closer.

"I thought we had to get up," Brennan sighed against his lips.

"It's still early," Booth muttered, the amount of sunshine pouring into the room easily belying his statement, but neither of them noticed nor cared. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Brennan gave herself over to the one person in the world that she loved and trusted above all others and told him what had been in the back of her mind for the past three days.

"I want to make a baby with you now, Booth." She tenderly cupped his cheek in her palm and looked deeply into his eyes as she told him her greatest desire.

"Yeah?" He asked with a tender smile, one hand instinctively splaying over her flat abdomen protectively as his forehead came to rest against hers.

"Yeah," she murmured, a hand moving down to rest atop the one on her abdomen. Anything else she might have said was cut off by her husband's tender, seeking lips as he proceeded to do his best to give her exactly what she had asked for.

An hour and a half later, she lay still shuddering in his arms from the most erotic experience of her life. Booth had been passionate but tender, stroking every inch of her body almost reverently with hands and lips, bringing her to satisfaction over and over again before finally joining their bodies and telling her that this was how babies should be made. Those words alone had pushed her over the edge the last time and he had soon followed. Now, they were simply holding each other trying to catch their breaths.

Brennan had never been happier in her life. And she told Booth so with whispered words of love as her eyes drifted closed. Booth looked down at his sleeping wife and honestly didn't think life could get better than this. But he knew that it was going to because they were going to have a baby. For some reason, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he and Brennan had just created a separate little being that was a combination of the two of them. Just the thought gave him a warm glow and a feeling of parental pride and he smiled softly.

He knew that they had agreed on taking three days for a belated honeymoon and those three days were up. He should wake Brennan so they could finish their debriefing and head home but he just couldn't make himself let go of her, much less disturb her rest. _There was always tomorrow_, he assured himself, snuggling her closer and pulling the covers over them. _And if the men waiting to debrief them were very, very lucky, he and Brennan might actually make it out of bed tomorrow but he wouldn't count on it,_ he acknowledged as he closed his eyes and joined his wife in slumber.


	43. Chapter 43

**Sorry to leave you hanging on this one, guys. I've had a few requests for more adventures of Red so here you go. Please don't forget to review. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth and Brennan walked into the informal dining room at the embassy where meals were available at set times if you preferred eating with others to enjoying your meals in your room as they had been doing for the past five days hand in hand. Four heads lifted and Brennan's boys eyed her as if making sure she was okay but they refrained from comment and Booth found he was so happy that he couldn't even be irritated with them for the looks.

"Good morning," Brennan smiled at the four men seated at the table and three of them immediately smiled back at her, returning her greeting. Her attention focused on the fourth who looked at her accusingly and she immediately knew she was in trouble. She had a good idea why but asked just to be sure. "What's wrong, Gavin?"

"Leave her alone, Gavin," ordered his brother. Gavin glared at Garrett then turned to Brennan.

"You broke it, Red," he said, annoyance clear in his voice. Booth glanced between the two and noted that Brennan looked a little hunted but she didn't try to prevaricate.

"It's not really my fault, Gavin," she began. The young man's eyes narrowed and Brennan rubbed her forehead as if she was searching for patience. "Okay, fine. I'm very sorry I took your new toy without asking," she finally sighed knowing the apology would do her no good. _God, she hated having Gavin mad at her._ He was the only one she couldn't reason or charm out of his irritation and she usually had to work really hard to gain his forgiveness. He got all silent and sullen, following her around and constantly giving her looks that said he was very disappointed in her until he felt she had been sufficiently punished for her transgressions. She shuddered to think of how long it was going to take for him to get over the loss of his new toy since it had been a prototype and the only one in existence.

Booth watched the exchange in fascination. The other soldiers were stifling their amusement so he could only assume they had seen something like this play out before but he had never seen Brennan almost pleading like this, except with him. She rarely cared what other people thought of her and even more rarely expended the effort to cajole someone into not being mad at her. That alone told him how much these men meant to her and he was glad he'd already made the decision to work things out with them. He reached over and rubbed his hand up and down Brennan's back but didn't try to interfere. He had to learn to let her fight her own battles and he knew Gavin wouldn't really hurt her. She threw him a grateful look then turned her attention back to Gavin.

"It really wasn't my fault that I fell on it when I got shot," she felt Booth stiffen and winced at her own words. Quickly glancing at him, she saw with relief that he didn't look angry and his hand on her back never faltered. "You know, Gavin, if those devices are going to be used in combat situations then they really should make them more durable." Gavin's frown told her that shifting the blame wasn't going to work. "Maybe it's not really broken," she offered almost desperately.

"It's definitely broken," Gavin said morosely, pulling the gadget out of his pocket and tossing it on the table. "It will be months before another prototype is ready and I won't be the one getting it this time because they don't trust me to keep up with it now," he whined, giving Brennan a good glare. Brennan looked guilty then her eyes narrowed and Booth knew she had just gotten an idea of how to appease the irritated soldier. Walking over to the table, she picked up the gadget and eyed it consideringly.

"They're letting you keep this?" she asked in surprise. She would have thought they would want the prototype back regardless of its condition.

"They have everything they need to build more so, yeah, they're letting me keep this worthless piece of junk now because it's _broken_," Gavin reiterated to everyone except Brennan's amusement. Booth poured two cups of coffee and walked over to the table, setting one down for Brennan and sipping his own as he sat down, his full attention on the little drama playing out in front of him.

"Would you forgive me if I could get it fixed for you?" Brennan asked point-blank.

"How?" Gavin demanded, eyeing her suspiciously. Booth was wondering the same thing.

"Some of the best scientific minds in the world work at the Jeffersonian, Gavin. I'm fairly certain that we can find someone there to repair your device." Gavin's eyes narrowed as he considered her proposition. He had already tried to get it sent back to the manufacturer for repairs but had been told that it would be less expensive to build a new one than repair the old one. His superiors also had issues with how reliable the repaired device would be so they had gladly given it to Gavin to tinker with. He considered the possibility that letting someone at the Jeffersonian try to repair the device would end up with the technology falling into the wrong hands and discarded it. He just couldn't see the people that Red worked with as spies.

"Okay, if you can find someone to fix it, then I can find it in my heart to forgive you for breaking it," he told her with a chastising look to let her know how disappointed in her he was. He scooped the gadget up off the table and started toward the door.

"Only for breaking it?" Brennan called after his retreating back.

"Yep," Gavin returned cheerfully and continued out of the room.

"Crap," muttered Brennan, sliding down into the chair next to Booth.

"What?" asked Booth.

"He's still mad that I took it in the first place," sighed Brennan dramatically.

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning that I'm in the cathouse until he decides to forgive me." Luckily for him, Booth had just swallowed his mouthful of coffee so he didn't wind up spewing it everywhere at her remark. Grant wasn't quite so fortunate. Alex choked on his eggs and Garrett almost fell out of his chair laughing. Brennan simply looked at the four of them like they had completely lost their minds. Booth explained before she had to ask.

"Doghouse, Baby, its doghouse. A cathouse is," he leaned over and whispered in her ear exactly what a cathouse was.

"Oh, I see." Her eyes widened and Booth could have sworn there was a blush creeping up her cheeks then she sighed and sat back in her seat dejectedly. Booth couldn't help but smile at the unusual drama she was exhibiting.

"Come on, Baby," he soothed, reaching for her hand, "it'll be okay. He'll get over it." Booth was surprised when everyone in the room snorted at his attempt to make Brennan feel better. "What?" he asked no one in particular.

"He won't get over it," Garrett supplied, as he threw Brennan a sympathetic look, "not any time soon, anyway, and he'll make her suffer until he does. That's what he does." Alex and Grant nodded their agreement. "Want me to beat him up for you?" Garrett offered but Brennan shook her head.

"Come on, Red, cheer up," ordered Alex, "his record for staying mad at you is what? Four days?"

"Yeah," Brennan answered morosely, "but this is much worse than Peru." Booth was beginning to get a tad concerned at just what, exactly, Gavin did to his wife when he was angry with her that made her dread the experience so much.

"Oh, I don't know. You smashed his pride in Peru, this time it was only a gadget," snickered Garrett, genuinely trying to be supportive. Alex was having a hard time hiding his smile even when Brennan glared at both of them.

"Wait. What happened in Peru?" Grant asked. Alex and Garrett both looked at Brennan as if requesting her permission to share and she shrugged.

"Red didn't stay where we put her," Alex started and Brennan rolled her eyes and glared at him. He grinned and went on with the story. "We were sent in to locate certain government assets that had gone missing. Red got us in by claiming we were part of her dig crew and we left Gavin there to guard her while we went after the missing assets." Booth had been listening to the tale in narrow eyed fascination but, so far, he hadn't heard anything to make Gavin angry at her. He glanced over at Brennan to find her nonchalantly studying her fingernails and he knew the good part was coming up.

"While we were gone, there was trouble at the site and some of the locals stole a bunch of stuff," Garrett had taken over the explanation but was interrupted by Brennan's impatient snort.

"It wasn't stuff, Garrett. That was an ancient burial site and some of those artifacts were in perfect condition even after hundreds of years. They were national treasures and meant to be studied by the scientific community. They were meant to be placed in museums so anyone who wanted to could see how their ancestors had lived, not sold on the black market to some collector who would lock them away forever," she stated passionately.

"What did you do?" Booth whispered, almost afraid to ask.

"What I had to," Brennan answered, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. Her stomach fluttered with apprehension at what his reaction at what she had felt it necessary to do was going to be but she met her husband's eyes levelly as Garrett continued the story.

"Red wanted to go after the artifacts, but my brother is a real stickler for following orders and he refused to let her leave camp or to help her."

"He said they were just things," Brennan muttered under her breath, the aggravation she had felt with Gavin at the time coming through loud and clear. "They weren't just things, Booth. They were a part of history, irreplaceable, invaluable and those men had no right to them." Booth simply nodded his understanding. He'd already known how his wife felt about ancient sites and he knew how strongly she objected to the black market.

"In his defense, he was only trying to protect you, Red," Garrett chided, then turned back to Booth and Grant who were both listening avidly. "They had no idea how many men they would be going up against and he did plan on helping her when we got back."

"We had no idea when you would return or how quickly those artifacts would disappear. I couldn't wait," Brennan burst out.

"What did you do?" Booth asked again, catching one of her hands and intertwining their fingers.

"I went after the artifacts," she said calmly, lifting her chin and meeting his eyes.

"Gavin gave in and decided to help you?" Booth asked quietly, hoping to get an affirmative response but already knowing he wasn't going to.

"Not exactly." She looked a more than a little guilty and somewhat embarrassed and Booth was intrigued, even more so when he saw that Alex and Garrett were trying to stifle their snickers. "I sort of ditched him and went after them myself."

"You did what?" Booth demanded, not at all surprised at what he was hearing. His hand clenched around his coffee cup and his gut clenched as the picture of her blithely walking into what had to have been a very dangerous situation with no back up whatsoever ran through his head. _For a freaking genius, sometimes he thought she had no sense at all. _ He wasn't angry, exactly, more like exasperated and it helped a lot that this had happened a long time ago and she had obviously survived.

"You did a bit more than ditch Garrett, Red," Alex reminded her and she actually blushed profusely. Booth waited for someone to tell him what she had actually done to Garrett but the soldiers had suddenly gone mute and he turned to his wife with a raised brow.

"I tricked him and locked him into one of the chambers of the site we were excavating, okay?" she muttered, glancing at him from beneath her lashes. "What else was I supposed to do?" she asked defensively when she saw how stunned he was by her admission. "He wouldn't let me out of his sight and I needed to get those artifacts back. He said he didn't trust me not to try to sneak off," she added belligerently. For some reason, that statement struck Booth as absolutely hilarious and he couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Smart kid," he murmured, several seconds later finally getting his laughter under control.

"Yes, Gavin and Garrett both possess an almost genius IQ," she agreed calmly. Booth's eyes narrowed and he began to wonder if she was messing with him but before he could even start to find out, Alex interrupted.

"Not smart enough, apparently," he told Booth cheerfully then turned to Brennan. "Tell him the rest, Red," he chided gently. Brennan looked mutinous for a few seconds then sighed wearily and picked up her coffee cup, staring down into it and avoiding Booth's eyes.

"ImighthavetakensomeofGavin'sthingstotradefortheartifacts," she admitted in a rush. Booth's eyebrow arched in surprise at the way Brennan made that admission, it was very unlike her to not be direct.

"You might have or you did?" Booth queried just to have his facts straight.

"Okay, fine, I did," she huffed, glancing up at him through her lashes, her look clearly asking why he was picking on her.

Booth fought back laughter as he recognized the look. It was the same one Parker used on him when he thought he was in trouble and went on the defensive to make Booth feel bad before he yelled at him. _He was really going to have to talk to his son about what he was teaching Bones when they got home_, he realized.

Unaware of Booth's musings, Brennan was concerned when he didn't make a comment and hurried on. "I had to take Gavin's things, Booth," she justified. "I didn't have the kind of money they would want for the artifacts with me. I didn't think they would take a check and no one else had anything valuable to trade," she finished earnestly and Booth fought back a smile when Grant turned a snort of laughter into a cough at the check remark.

"So, you traded Gavin's equipment to get the artifacts back?" He questioned blandly.

"Not exactly," she admitted. Booth simply arched a brow and waited for her to expand. "Two of the villagers that were assisting at the dig site took me to meet the men who had taken the artifacts," she said, wanting him to know that she hadn't gone into that situation alone and hoping that would appease his overprotective nature where she was concerned. "They still had the artifacts but they were less than receptive to the idea of trading them for even superior electronic equipment," she sighed.

"I'm sorry, Bones," he said in commiseration, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"About what?" She asked, genuine puzzlement in her eyes.

"That you didn't get the artifacts back." She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Of course I got them back, Booth," she quickly disabuse him of the notion that she had failed in her endeavor.

"How?" Demanded Grant before Booth could get the question out. Brennan shrugged nonchalantly and took a leisurely sip of coffee.

"Turns out they did take checks after all." She blinked and looked round as four grown men absolutely howled with laughter.


	44. Chapter 44

**Hello, people. I apologize for the delay but I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please remember to review. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

"Bones, what, exactly, does Gavin do when he's upset with you?" Booth asked in concern as they exited the dining room an hour later. He had quietly watched Brennan throughout breakfast and knew the fact that the young man was upset had, in turn, upset her. He had offered her his silent support and comfort but he hadn't really thought it was anything serious because he trusted the others to never deliberately harm her. It was the looks of sympathy the rest of the team was sending her way that had really made him sit up and take notice and start to worry but he hadn't wanted to ask until they were alone so she could be totally honest with him. Not that he thought she would lie to him but he wanted her to be able to tell him whatever it was about the situation that was upsetting her so much without an audience. She shrugged and kept walking. "Whoa," he caught her arm and pulled her to a stop.

"It's hard to explain," she turned to him with a sigh, knowing he wasn't going to be put off by his expression.

"How about you try anyway?" he asked with a charm smile, pulling her back into the now empty dining room for more privacy. She leaned back against the wall and tilted her head to look at him with resignation.

"He won't really hurt me, Booth," she hastily reassured him, correctly reading the concern in his eyes.

"I know that, Bones," Booth unconsciously leaned closer, only a few inches separating them now. "I know your boys would never deliberately hurt you but I also know that something is upsetting you and I'd like to know what," he said simply." Brennan blinked up at him. It wasn't that she had a problem giving Booth the information he had requested. It was that she knew how her answer was going to sound; whiny, juvenile and unbelievably silly and she didn't want her husband to think she was being ridiculous over something that was painfully serious to her.

"He just follows me around, Booth. And he keeps _looking_ at me," she muttered in frustration and Booth couldn't help the grin that tipped up the corners of his mouth. She had no idea how much she sounded like he and Jared had as children when they were getting on each other's nerves.

Brennan saw the smile and immediately clamped her lips shut. She had been afraid Booth would find it amusing and didn't really know how to explain that, as juvenile as it sounded, it caused her very real distress to know that one of the boys was upset with her. She guessed if it was happening to someone else she might be able to see the humor in the situation, but it wasn't someone else, it was her and she definitely didn't find it funny. She didn't let people get close to her but her entire team had slipped under her defenses over the years and had become very much VIP's to her. It tore her up to have one of them angry with her especially when she was completely in the wrong and she knew it so she didn't even have a defense and that alone frustrated the hell out of her. Looking up at Booth, the genuine amusement shining in his eyes actually stung a little, but it didn't make her angry. It did, however, hurt her feelings. Her eyes dropped from his and she pushed off the wall, finished with this conversation. Booth's amusement immediately vanished.

"Hey," he said, catching her arm and gently pushing her back against the wall, caging her in with a palm laid flat against the wall on either side of her shoulders. She calmly stayed where he put her but she avoided eye contact. Booth knew then that he had unintentionally hurt her feelings and cursed himself silently. Damn, he knew how difficult it was for her to describe the subtleties of a lot of interactions and behavior. Hell, she had to know someone really well and they had to be important to her for her to even notice those subtle nuances and try to figure out what they meant. Cupping her jaw, he urged her face up and she slowly met his eyes. "I'm sorry, Baby," he whispered softly.

"It's not funny, Booth," she whispered back, her eyes full of hurt and reproach, "at least to me, it's not," she clarified. Booth's head drifted down until his forehead rested against hers.

"You're right, Baby, it's not funny," he agreed softly, his other hand coming up and now both hands were cupping her face gently. "Please finish telling me about it."

"There's nothing else to tell. Gavin just follows me around, giving me looks that say he's very disappointed in me and he won't stop until he thinks I'm sufficiently sorry for what I did." Her dread and frustration were obvious and Booth suddenly knew exactly why.

"Those looks make you feel guilty, don't they?"

"Yes," she admitted with a sigh.

"Want me to talk to him?" One hand was threading its way through her hair and they were both wishing they were alone in their bedroom as he stepped forward and his body leaned heavily against hers.

"No." she sighed again, her arms going up to wrap around his neck.

"Want me to beat him up for you?" he offered, mirroring Garrett's offer. Brennan's head cocked as she considered the offer.

"No," she finally decided, slipping her arms up around his neck, "but I appreciate the offer." The hurt in her eyes was replaced by amusement and Booth was relieved to see that.

"Then, how can I help?" He asked huskily, his breath puffing against her lips.

"You just did," she assured him honestly, her eyes full of love and gratitude that he would do whatever she asked to help her. "Thank you," she added but before he could ask what for, her arms tightened around his neck and her lips met his in a tender kiss that quickly turned hot and hungry. His mouth slanted over hers again and again, taking what he wanted and encouraging her to do the same. Luckily for them, before things got completely out of hand, they were recalled to where they were by the rattling of dishes. Reluctantly pulling his lips away from hers, Booth pulled Brennan into his arms and held her tightly until their heart rates and breathing patterns had calmed.

"I would like nothing better than to take you back to bed," he whispered against her ear.

"I know," sighed Brennan wistfully, "but we've already promised to debrief today and everyone is waiting on us. Plus, the sooner we debrief, the sooner we get to go home." Brennan was telling herself as much as Booth to keep from dragging him back up the stairs. You would think five days in bed would be enough to get them through a day without wanting to rip each other's clothes off but no, not even close. She didn't think they could spend enough time in bed for that to happen and she was, frankly, glad, knowing they always had this passionate response to each other to look forward to.

Booth was having similar thoughts, especially about ripping her clothes off but the thought of going home gave him the strength to concentrate on what they needed to do today instead of what he wanted to do. He was immensely grateful to Miriam for giving them the last five days and wouldn't trade them or the memory of them for anything but he desperately missed home. He missed his son, his job, his and Brennan's apartment, hell, he even missed the squints although he wouldn't admit it under torture. He just wanted to take his wife home and settle into the life he imagined them living together. He knew there would be nothing normal about that life but he couldn't wait for them to get away from all of the danger and intrigue that had abounded for the last couple of weeks and just be Booth and Bones again.

"We should go. Everyone is waiting on us," Brennan pulled him from his thoughts with her softly spoken words. Giving himself a mental shake, Booth smiled down at his wife who had made no move to leave his arms.

"Yeah, we should go," he agreed, reluctantly releasing her and slipping an arm around her shoulders. "I'm ready to go home," he added as they stepped into the hallway and headed toward the conference room where everyone was waiting.

"Me, too," Brennan sighed, her arm slipping around his waist. She suddenly sent Booth a brilliant smile and he was immediately curious about what was going through that big brain of hers.

"What?" he asked, returning the smile.

"Nothing, really. I'll just be glad to get home and see Parker."

"Yeah, me too." Booth released Brennan as they entered the conference room, ushering her in before him. Looking around the room, Booth saw that they had quite an audience. There were two generals and two admirals in addition to General Hood.

"Good morning, Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth," Hood stood and greeted them both with a smile and a handshake. "It's good to see you both." Booth's eyes narrowed on the older man, looking for sarcasm but he quickly relaxed when he didn't see any.

"Good morning, general," Brennan and Booth returned the greeting simultaneously. Quickly taking seats, they waited on everyone else to be seated so they could get on with this.

Booth was startled to see his wife shoot someone seated further down the conference table a narrow eyed glare and hold it several seconds before she tossed her head and turned to look straight ahead. Looking around, Booth saw Gavin's gaze was pinned on Brennan and the young man wore a hurt, puppy dog look that would have softened even the hardest heart. He stifled his amusement when he noted that Brennan was studiously avoiding looking at Gavin again. He shot Gavin a look that told him to can it but the soldier simply raised a brow as if to say what was I doing?

"Just ignore him," Booth advised, leaning in to whisper in Brennan's ear. Brennan snorted and rolled her eyes.

"It's not that easy, Booth," she assured him.

"Come on, Baby, he's just looking at you. How bad can it be?"

"Just watch and you'll see how bad it is," she told him morosely, just as the debriefing started.

Settling more deeply into his chair, Booth did watch for the next several hours, his attention divided equally between the debriefing and the byplay between his wife and Gavin. He saw that Brennan couldn't resist periodic glances at Gavin and he had to marvel at Gavin's sense of timing because every time Brennan looked his way, the young man was looking at her with his sad, chiding expression firmly in place. Every time they took a break, Gavin was immediately at her side or he managed to place himself in Brennan's line of sight where she couldn't avoid looking at him. _Damn, the kid was good, _Booth admitted to himself, sipping coffee and watching as Brennan spoke to General Hood with Gavin at her seeing that look on Gavin's face so many times, Booth was almost ready to apologize and he hadn't even done anything. He could understand how the young man's actions were getting to Brennan who just didn't have the experience of dealing with someone she cared about trying to make her feel guilty and was, therefore, unable to just ignore him. Booth's attention was diverted when Garrett walked up to him and just stood there, looking like he had something to say but making no attempt to say it.

"Is there something I can do for you, Garrett?" Booth asked blandly.

"Yeah, you can resist the urge to kill my brother," Garrett answered just as blandly. Surprised, Booth turned to face Garrett.

"Why would I want to kill your brother?" He demanded. Garrett pointed at where Brennan and Gavin were now standing alone and Brennan was speaking to Gavin who was still wearing the I was done wrong expression and shaking his head to whatever she was saying. Looking extremely exasperated, Brennan threw up her hands in defeat and stalked away from the younger man to return to the conference table.

"It's really not his fault, you know," Garrett began conversationally. Booth simply raised a brow, he really had to hear this. "Gavin cares about Red very much and he just wants her to stop doing things that put her in so much danger." Booth nodded, very much on board with that. "I know this is kind of a weird way to go about trying to teach her a lesson but it's what he knows. It's what has been drilled into him our entire lives."

"How so?" Booth asked, genuinely interested and Garrett responded to that interest.

"Gavin is 12 minutes older than me but, for our father, the difference might as well have been 12 years. He started grooming Gavin to follow in his footsteps from the time we were born and you have never seen icy disdain until you have seen our father displeased with something Gavin had done." Booth was actually moved by the bitterness and Garrett's voice.

"What about you?" Booth asked. Garrett didn't even pretend to misunderstand the question.

"He pretty much ignored me unless he was trying to teach Gavin a lesson then he showered me with attention," Garrett laughed but there was no humor in the sound. "I used to get so jealous that Gavin got all of our father's attention but now I'm just grateful that he didn't warp me as badly as he did my brother." Booth's heart went out to the young man. If anyone could understand having daddy issues, it was him.

"I'm not going to hurt your brother, Garrett," Booth assured him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "But I would appreciate it if you could talk to him and get him to lay off Bones."

"I can try but I seriously doubt that it will do any good," Garrett cautioned. Booth nodded his understanding and Garrett headed toward his brother. Booth poured another cup of coffee and headed toward his wife.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, sitting down beside her and extending the cup of coffee. Giving him a grateful look, she accepted the coffee and took a sip with a sigh.

"I'm fine, Booth," she assured him but he knew better. Gavin was really getting to her and Booth could only hope that Garrett's talk with his brother would achieve the desired results. If not, he would have no choice but to talk to Gavin himself.

"I could still beat him up for you," Booth teased knowing that Brennan would never accept the offer.

"Not right now," she rejected the offer with a smile, "but maybe later," she teased back. Booth grinned and pushed several strands of hair off of her face and behind her ear but before he could further comment, the debriefing started back up.

Several hours later, the debriefing was halted for the day and they all stood and stretched tiredly, glad to be released from the confinement of sitting still for so long. Since it was time for dinner, they all headed back to the dining room where a buffet was available. Booth was pleased to see that Garrett's talk with Gavin had apparently done some good because Gavin was no longer giving Brennan those downtrodden puppy dog looks. The atmosphere at dinner was almost celebratory as they were all looking forward to finishing the debriefing and getting back to their real lives. Conversation flowed freely and smoothly and they were almost finished with dinner when Booth was hit by an invitation he had never really expected to hear.

"Booth, we're thinking about having a poker night and were wondering if you would care to join us," Grant threw out the invitation but the other three nodded, letting him know they were all on board.

Little did they know they had just placed Booth between a rock and a hard place. Due to his prior gambling addiction he didn't even participate in friendly poker games where there were wagers and he couldn't imagine these men playing for nothing. On the other hand, if he turned down the invitation, they would most likely be insulted and it could have some long-term repercussions defeating his goal of getting them to accept him into their little circle. He really didn't want to trot his past indiscretions out in front of the four men but he didn't really see a way around it. Not that he was ashamed, exactly, he just had a sneaking suspicion that these men would see it as a weakness and he was surprised to note that he actually cared about what they thought of him. _Damn, he was truly bonding with Brennan's boys. Fanfreakingtastic._

"I think they wish for you to participate in a male bonding ritual," Brennan leaned in closely but her whisper was loud enough to be overheard by everyone at the table. Booth couldn't help but notice how every other man's, including Gavin, face softened and they all smiled softly at Brennan's antics, showing him once again how much they cared about her. Maybe bonding with them wasn't such a bad thing. He knew it would make her happy and that was all that really mattered to any of them.

"Yeah, Baby, I got that but thanks," he said warmly, turning his head, more than a little surprised that she hadn't blurted out that he was a degenerate gambler and couldn't play poker with them. She was so close that their noses brushed and her eyes told him that his gambling addiction was his secret to reveal or not as he chose, that she would support either decision.

"So, what do you say, Booth? Ready to get your butt kicked?" asked Garrett, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically. However bad his childhood had been, it was apparent that he didn't suffer from self esteem issues.

"Sorry, guys, but I don't gamble," Booth said, not prepared to tell them about his past just yet.

"Do you play darts?" asked Alex without missing a beat.

"Yeah, I play darts pretty well actually," Booth returned and Alex silently communicated with the other three then turned back to Booth.

"Darts it is then," he told Booth cheerfully. Booth was almost suspicious that they wanted to get him alone so much but Brennan was looking on proudly like her boys were inviting the new kid on the block to join their little gang and he couldn't take that away from her.

"Sure," he told Alex then turned his attention to his wife. "What will you be up to?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know.

"I'll go visit Miriam," her voice shook with laughter she was having difficulty suppressing because she could clearly see that he thought it was highly probable she would get into some kind of trouble while he wasn't with her. "It's okay, Booth. I promise not to get myself kidnapped or shot at while you're playing with the boys," she told him teasingly and he laughed, relaxing when he saw how overprotective he was being.

"I'll hold you to that," he told her. Ignoring the four men who had gathered at the door waiting on him, he cupped Brennan's face in his hands and kissed her so long and so thoroughly that they were both breathing hard when he pulled back. "Behave yourself," he admonished. Dropping a kiss on her nose and getting to his feet, he went to join the others wondering what the hell they were up to and seriously doubting it was just playing darts.


	45. Chapter 45

**Hey, guys. I bet you thought I had forgotten about this one but I haven't. I hope you enjoy the chapter and I will be working on the Adventures of Red and post them much more timely in the future. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth tensed a little as he followed Alex and Gavin down the hallway toward the gym, still wondering what they were up to. He threw a sideways glance at Grant who was walking on one side of him then turned his head to look at Garrett who was on his other side. They were no help at all, both wore placid expressions and neither offered an explanation even though they could clearly see that Booth was suspicious. He relaxed slightly when they passed the doorway to the gym and kept going. Further down the hallway, they stopped in front of a door and Alex swiped a security badge, input a code on the touchpad, pulled open the door and stood back and motioned for Booth to enter. Wondering what the hell he was getting himself into, Booth stepped forward and entered…. the best freaking man cave ever.

"Wow," he whispered in awe, looking at the 63 inch plasma screen TV at one side of the large room. There were at least a couple of hundred movies in racks on one side of the TV and it was surrounded by a large leather sofa and three matching leather recliners. Throw in a sporting event to view on that amazing TV and that spot would be most men's idea of heaven.

Dragging his attention away from the TV, Booth slowly surveyed the rest of the room. He took in the six old fashioned video games and two pinball machines along one wall, the foosball table and the pool table strategically placed to allow movement all around them without taking up too much room. A fully stocked bar complete with 10 barstools took up one whole wall and two round tables obviously set up for poker occupied another corner of the room. Booth revised his opinion and decided that a sporting event wasn't really necessary to make this room freaking great and any man who didn't think so obviously wasn't producing enough testosterone to qualify for the title. His attention was finally caught by the snickers coming from his companions.

"What's so funny?" Booth demanded with narrowed eyes. He wasn't angry but he was getting more suspicious by the second.

"Nothing," laughed Grant giving him a friendly slap on the back. "We're not really laughing at you, Booth. In fact you would have failed that part of the initiation if you had reacted to this room any differently."

"What initiation?" asked Booth suspiciously, looking at each man's face individually. They all looked back at him blandly.

"Don't worry, Booth, the process is painless. Mostly." Alex assured Booth with a laugh, walking past him and making his way behind the bar, obviously familiar with the room. Bending down, Alex started pulling cold bottles of beer from the refrigerator hidden by the bar, looking at each man with a raised brow and receiving a nod from each in turn.

Booth walked further into the room watching the others who all seemed to be completely relaxed and ready for a boy's night. He wasn't entirely sure he trusted that but the trust had to start somewhere and he was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until they did something to lose that trust. Grant walked over and picked up two bottles of beer, handing one to Booth who took it with a nod and a smile. He really liked Grant and felt they could become good friends give time.

Garrett walked to the end of the bar and flipped open a panel on the wall to reveal an official dart board. Gavin leaned over the bar and grabbed the bag of darts, dragged them atop the bar and started separating them out into piles of the correct colors. With a grin, he turned to Booth. "I believe this is your game," he said, gesturing toward the darts for Booth to pick his color, his eyes challenging and Booth suddenly got it. This was the kid's idea of trash talk. Well, Booth could get on board with that.

"Yeah, this is my game and I'm going to kick your ass, kid," he told Gavin complacently, reaching for the red tipped darts. Gavin grinned and the others laughed approvingly.

"Give it your best shot, old man," Gavin returned, gesturing for Booth to step up to the official line and go first. Shooting a glare at the younger man for the old man remark, Booth stepped up and threw his first dart, unsurprised when he made a bull's eye. He was damned good with a knife and it was the same principle. In no hurry, he threw the rest of his darts and scored bulls eyes with all but one which was just barely outside the middle circle. With a superior smile, he stepped back and gestured to Gavin to step up and take his turn.

"Oh, I think you may have just met your match, big brother," goaded Garrett, walking over and removing Booth's darts to give his brother an unobstructed board.

"I'm not worried," Gavin returned and Booth saw why when the young man threw his darts in quick succession. He was very, very good. Not quite as good as Booth but still very good. Booth beat him by three points, which wasn't much considering how many bulls eyes had been scored by both men.

"Not bad," Booth murmured approvingly and Gavin grinned at him, acknowledging he had been beaten by a superior opponent. "Who's next?" asked Booth, turning to the others with a raised brow.

"Not me. I suck at darts," Garrett held up his hands and backed away as if he was going to be forced into play. Grant shook his head and took a drink of his beer which left Alex and Booth eyeing each other.

"Alex?" Booth asked smoothly.

"Sorry, I've never learned to play darts. Pool's my game. I don't suppose you play?" Alex returned. _Ah,_ thought Booth_, now he understood._ _He would be willing to bet that each of the team would claim a different game within the room as their specialty and challenge him to beat them. _He wasn't really surprised, it was the way of the warrior, survival of the fittest and it was a hell of a lot less dangerous for them all to get it out of their systems in this room than in the field. Besides, he was even better at pool than he was at darts.

"I've played a little," Booth conceded with an inner smile. Twenty minutes later, he laid his pool stick across the table with more than a little satisfaction that he had just kicked Alex's ass. Turning to Grant and Garrett, he arched a brow. "Next?" he queried, deadpan.

Garrett laughed and shook his head. "Not me, man. You don't have to kick my ass for me to know you can," he acknowledged, heading for one of the pin ball machines.

Grant grinned and clapped Booth on the back. "Well done," he praised, "I don't really have a game," he added picking up his beer and heading toward one of the tables in the corner. Booth followed him and they both settled down as Gavin and Alex started a game of pool. "You know, they're not really trying to give you a hard time," Grant told Booth, not really surprised when Booth snorted in disbelief.

"Yeah? Well, you could have fooled me," Booth sighed taking a drink of his beer. Grant took a deep breath, thinking hard to come up with a way of explaining things before this evening turned into something it had never been meant to be.

"Booth, you were a ranger, a sniper. You know how hard it is to accept a new person into your little world, to trust them with your life and, more importantly, the lives of your family because you know as well as I do that these teams are family. Add to that, one infuriating, obstinate woman who runs us all ragged and whom we would all die to keep safe and I'm surprised there hasn't been very real bloodshed with the changing of the guard." Booth started at Grant's last words and met his twinkling blue eyes, unable to believe what the other man was telling him. Booth simply shook his head. Grant nodded.

"No way," breathed Booth.

"Yes, way," laughed Grant. "This is your welcome to the team party, Booth."

"Well, I'll be damned," whispered Booth.

"Probably not yet but I'm sure you will be before long if you keep hanging around with us," laughed Alex, setting a fresh beer down in front of Booth and taking the seat next to him. Garrett dropped down on Alex's other side and Gavin handed Grant a fresh beer before taking the seat beside him. Booth looked at each man individually and saw only acceptance in their gazes. He knew he still had a few things to work out with a couple of them but, for the first time, he felt like a part of the team and it felt good, better than he had expected. He was at a loss for words but was saved from having to say anything by the door being opened. They all turned and the team was once again complete because Nathaniel slowly walked into the room.

"Hello, ladies. Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" Nathaniel asked facetiously.

"I'm not sure that we want somebody dumb enough to get himself shot at our little party," Alex returned, grinning in welcome at his friend. Booth noted that all four men seemed extremely happy to see their commander obviously recovered from his injuries walking towards them with barely a limp. Nathaniel pulled a chair over from the other table and sat down between Grant and Booth.

"I thought you were in the States," Garrett said conversationally as Nathaniel tried to get comfortable in the hard chair.

"I was," Nathaniel answered, "but I flew back in this morning since this debriefing seemed to be more than you girls could handle. What the hell is taking so long?" he demanded, not having a clue what was so funny when four men burst into laughter and Booth actually blushed.

"We should be finished with the debriefing tomorrow," Grant inserted smoothly, avoiding Nathaniel's question entirely. Nathaniel nodded then looked around and grinned as he figured out what was going on.

"Did I miss the whole initiation?" he asked no one in particular.

"Nope," supplied Garrett, "we haven't gotten to the best part yet." Getting up from the table, Garrett and Gavin headed to the bar and started gathering bottles of alcohol and shot glasses.

Nathaniel laughed and turned to Booth, holding out a hand. "Welcome to the team, Booth," he said sincerely.

"Thanks," Booth returned, taking the proffered hand and shaking it firmly. His attention was drawn to the twins when they returned to the table and set down their bounty. Booth laughed as he noted they had gin, rum, scotch, and some stuff he couldn't read the labels of. They sat a shot glass in front of each man as if it was part of some big ceremony then took their seats. "What's going on?" Booth asked looking between Nathaniel and Grant.

"Well, this is the part of the evening when we really get to know each other," Nathaniel supplied with a grin.

"By getting drunk?" asked Booth incredulously. In truth, there were certain things he preferred not to know about his teammates and how they acted wasted was one of those things.

"We're not just randomly getting drunk, Booth," Alex assured him. "This is a little game called I never and I guess you could say the whole point is to get everyone else drunk before you do."

"I'm familiar with the game," Booth assured them, although it had been many years since he had played this little game. He thought it was a bit juvenile but he could hardly refuse since this little party was apparently in his honor.

"Good," grinned Nathaniel, "then you can go first." Garrett acted as bartender and filled everyone's shot glasses.

Booth thought for a moment then his eyes landed on Gavin and he grinned. "I never let Bones trick me and lock me up so that she could go after the bad guys by herself." Gavin grimaced and picked up his shot glass, downing the alcohol without protest.

"Um, Booth, point of clarification," Booth turned to Garrett who looked more than a little uncomfortable. "Does that only include being locked up somewhere or does it include being otherwise restrained?" Booth's eyebrows rose and he considered the question.

"No, Garrett, it includes being restrained or tricked in any way so Bones could go after the bad guys herself," noting the way Garrett relaxed at his words, Booth quickly added, "or so she could go out and do whatever it was she wanted to without interference."

"Damn," muttered Garrett, picking up his glass and draining it. Booth had expected that one but he was really surprised when Grant picked up his glass and drained it with a sheepish smile and a shrug. He was stunned when Nathaniel and then Alex also drained their glasses.

"My turn," Garrett said quickly, refilling glasses.

"Not so fast," ordered Booth, "I know what she did to Gavin and I call the right to know what she did to the rest of you." Garrett looked like he really didn't care one way or the other. Grant looked embarrassed. Booth couldn't really get a read on Alex and Nathaniel looked like he was going to balk.

"Would it make any difference to say the incidents were classified?" asked Nathaniel, crossing his arms over his chest and giving Booth his best intimidating look. Booth snorted.

"Not at all. Rule of the game, Nathaniel," Booth cited confidentially. He had no idea if that was really rule or not and he didn't care, he was going to hear these stories one way or another. Grant, Alex and Nathaniel leaned close and had a whispered conversation and Booth knew he had won when they all sat back and eyed him warily.

"Since you're now part of the team, it's only fair, I suppose," Nathaniel conceded. "But, Booth, you should be absolutely sure you want to hear these. We like to call these the Real, Unabridged Adventures of Red and I'm not kidding when I say you have no idea what she can get up to. Most of these little adventures gave us all nightmares," Nathaniel's level gaze told Booth the younger man wasn't kidding but Booth didn't even hesitate.

"She's my wife, Nathaniel. I can handle anything you can tell me," Booth assured him.

"Okay," Nathaniel conceded, "but don't forget that I tried to warn you." Booth ignored the slight shiver of foreboding that washed over him at Nathaniel's serious tone. He had no doubt his wife had put these men through hell but he could handle anything they could tell him, he assured himself as he sat back and got comfortable, ready to hear just exactly what sort of classified work she had done for the government. Or so he thought.


	46. Chapter 46

**Authors Note: I apologize for my seeming abandonment of this story. I have had a lot going on in my life just lately and don't want the angst resulting from that to bleed over into this story. I like the characters too much to let that happen so I am taking a hiatus on this one, hopefully not very long. I have never left you guys with an unfinished story and I promise not to do it now, I just need to get back to a place where I can do the story and the characters justice. Thanks, T.**


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